Nellikai Sadham / Indian Gooseberry Rice / Amla Rice – Lunchbox special #RecipeRedux

    The theme for April 2016 

     Limpin’ Along for Lunch

Ever get in a lunch rut? Need new ideas for packing your kids’ or your own lunch? Are packable noontime options dwindling? Surely you’ve met the ‘What shall I pack for lunch?” question head-on with creative ideas. Please share your healthy lunch recipe - so we can swap it into our own rotation.

     Any rice preparation will be the choice for our lunchboxes. Be it a onepot rice or a plain rice with sided like curry , stirfry and yogurt.

 We south indians prefer rice over any other meal. This rice is a simple fried rice with the addition of Indian Gooseberry to add the taste and flavour to the rice. I want to post this rice preparation as it was simple and quick fix lunch recipe.

Nellikai as the gooseberry is known in Tamil is the wonder fruit and ancient fruit known. In the Tamil Literature it was described as the Gooseberry will gives long life and a King gave this wonder fruit to Avvaiyar , a great Tamil Poet.

 This fruit is rich in Vitamin C and has anti-aging property. As we have the Indian Gooseberry Tree / Arinellikai in our garden , this rice is common during the fruit bearing season.

  This rice is tasty and can be prepared in a jiffy if you have cooked rice in hand. This will be excellent dish for lunchboxes and during travel. As the summer has started in India , many will plan for a short trip , most of them carry packed lunch.

  I had used the small type gooseberry in this rice , big Indian gooseberry can be used.

Requirements :

Indian gooseberry – ½ cup (Grated )

Cooked plain rice – 2 cup

Oil – 1 tbs

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Onion – 1 small

Green chilli – 2

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Salt  - ½ tsp

Curry leaves a sprig

Method :

          Take a handful of gooseberries wash and pat dry.   Use a grater to grate the flesh  and discard the seeds .

 If you like sour taste can include more gooseberries.

Peel and chop the onion. Chop the green chillies.

Heat oil in a pan , add the mustard seeds and let it crackle .

Add the chopped onion and green chillies , sauté till the onion turns translucent .

Add in the curry leaves and grated gooseberries, mix well.

Add the turmeric powder , salt and sauté for 2 minutes.

Now , add the rice and give it a quick stir  / toss on medium flame .

Let the rice to heat up for 2 minutes.

Take flame and serve along with any pickle of your choice.

Gooseberry rice is ready to serve.

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Ragi Pakoda / Finger Millet Fritters - Kongunadu Style

  Ragi pakoda is one of the common snack of the kongu region. The speciality of this pakoda is we add murungaikeerai / drumstick leaves to this pakoda in our region.We all  like this snack a lot .  It was healthy as both ragi and drumstick leaves are rich in Iron.

  This pakoda will be crispy and crunchy . Kids will like it for sure.

Ingredients:
Ragi flour – 2 cup
Onion – 1
Green chilli – 4
Drumstick leaves – a handful
Salt as required
Curry leaves
Water
Oil for frying

Method :

Chop the onion and green chillies to fine pieces.

In a bowl , add the flour , onion , green chillies , curry leaves , drumstick leaves , salt and mix well.

Sprinkle little water and mix well to make a smooth tight batter.

Heat oil in a kadai , add the small pieces of the dough and deep fry till crisp.

As the color of the ragi is brown , we can’t able to check from its color.  Cook in medium flame for 10 minutes is enough.

Ragi pakodas are ready to serve.

Tastes best when warm.

KONGUNADU CUISINE / KONGU RECIPES

KONGUNADU CUISINE / KONGU RECIPES

Vegetarian
sweet : 
Kacchayam / sweet fritters

Kulambu / Curry : 

Kathari mochaikottai kulambu
Pachaipayaru kulambu / Greengram dhal curry
Surraikai Thattaipayarru kulambu 
Pacchai puli Rasam / Raw tamarind Rasam

Rice :

Arisumparuppu sadam
Vetrillai pondu sadam 

Non -Vegetarian 

Vetrillai Poondu Sadam / Betel Garlic Rice

     
I am happy to share this healthy recipe to all mothers..................




                                 

     Vetrillai / Betel leaf is used as offering to god in India. Betel plant is a symbol of Goddess Lakshmi. We have the plant in our garden but it was a small leaf variety with more hotness. I had seen many grandma chewing betels. Thambulam / Betel , supari and calcium ( vetrillai paku ) will be served in most festive occasions and celebrations in south India, while in North India , it was in the form of Pann.

          This vetrillai has many health benefits – aids in digestion , acts as a antiseptic along with pepper. It is coated with castor oil then shown in flame , then applied on young children’s chest to loosen the sputum in case of cold.

          This also helps lactating mothers as it increases milk secretion.

          I had seen this recipe in Reva’s Blog long before. It was first in my to do list , still I was hesitant how the rice will taste. Once I tasted , I want to make it often………

Requirements :

Cooked Rice – 2 cups

Salt to Taste

For Seasoning :

 Gingelly oil – 1 tbs

Fennel Seeds / Aniseeds – ½  tsp

Cinnamon stick – 1 small stick

Garlic cloves – 10

Curry leaves – a sprig

Small Betel leaves  - 15 – 20

For Masala :

Dry / fresh Turmeric – 1 inch

Dry Red chilli – 2

Black Sesame seeds – 1 tsp

Black Peppercorns – 1 tsp

Dry Ginger / Sukku – ½ inch

Method :

 I used normal pooni rice . if you want can use basmati rice or seeraga samba rice.

 To prepare Masala :

     Dry roast the turmeric , sesame seeds , red chillies , pepeprcorns and ginger for few seconds or till the sesame seeds stops spluttering. Allow to cool and gring to a coarse powder. I didn’t add water for grinding.

Making of Rice :

Heat gingelly oil in a kadai . add the fennel seeds and cinnamon stick , fry on medium flame.

Add in the curry leaves and ginger flakes. Sauté till the  aroma from garlic comes out or garlic becomes slightly brown.

Add in the cooked rice and required salt and toss well.Then add the chopped betel leaves and mix well.

Add the grounded masala and mix well. Sprinkle little water and mix once. Cook in medium flame with lid for 5 minutes.

Betel garlic rice is ready to serve.

Healthy and nutritious rice will be best to carry on lunch boxes.

KACHAYAM / SWEET FRITTERS

 Kachayam as we call is sweet fritters made using maida , sugar , banana and cardamom. It was a usual sweet dish made immediately when the guest arrives. As this kachayam can be made easily, in our home we makes this often when we are having more  fully ripen bananas.

 This is a traditional recipe of the kongunadu cuisine. Many of the people of this region makes this delicious sweet fritters.

Ingredients:
Maida / All purpose flour – 2 cup
Sugar – 1 cup
Banana – 2
Baking soda – ¼ tsp ( optional )
Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
Water
Salt – a pinch
Oil for frying

Method :

Mix the flour , salt , sugar , cardamom powder and baking soda together.

Mash the banana well and add to the flour.

Add in half cup of water and make into smooth batter.

Heat oil in a kadai , pour spoonful of batter into the hot oil and deep fry till golden brown on both sides.

Serve hot crispy kachayams.

Kachayam are ready to serve.

It  tastes better next day but will be chewy  .

Katharikai moochaikotai kulambu

     This was my mom’s recipe , for everyone their first inspiration to cooking is their mom and I too follow her steps in cooking . she usually cooks brinjal with any beans. Mom’s always feed their kids with nutritious foods. This is simple and easy to make kulambu for rice.

Requirements :

• Brinjal – ½ kg
• Fieldbean – 1 cup
• onions –  1
• Oil – 1 tbs
• Sambar powder – 2 tbs
• Salt as required
• Curry leaves
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

To grind :

• Grated coconut – 4 tbs
• Cinnamon – 1 small stick
• Cloves – 2
• Aniseeds – ¼ tsp
• Roasted channa dhal – 1 tbs
• Tamarind – marble size

Method :

• Cook the field beans separately.
• Soak the tamarind in a cup of water and extract the tamarind juice.
• Chop the onion and brinjals.
• Heat oil in a kadai , add the mustard seeds and let it crackle.
• Add the chopped onion and curry leaves , sauté well.

• Add the chopped brinjals and sauté for a minute.

• Add the turmeric powder and sambar powder , sauté till the raw smell leaves.

• Add the tamarind extract and required salt and cook.

• When the brinjal is cooked , add the cooked beans and mix well.

• Now add the ground coconut paste, mix well and cook the kulambu for ten minutes in low fire.

• Kathari moochaikotai kulambu is ready to serve.

• Serve with hot steaming rice along with a spoon of ghee.