traditional foods

Undhiyo – visual recipe

I like winter coz I get to eat Undhiyo in this season only. This is a  traditional Gujarati dish, with a unique blend of vegetables like yam, sweet potato, brinjal, peas, etc. The key to cooking this dish is to make it on a slow flame.

I have modified this dish a bit by avoiding the gatta (small balls made up of gram flour and fenugreek leaves, steamed and then stir fried). But will be including the ingredients from it in the recipe to maintain the taste.

Ingredients:

Potatoes – 3 medium sized

Green peas – one small bowl

Yam – two  medium sized

Sweet potatoes – 3

Flat Paes (Papdi) – 6

Coriander

Garlic – 15 cloves

Ginger – one medium sized

Green chillies  – 4

Ajwain

Coriander powder – one teaspoon

Cumin powder- one teaspoon

Asafoetida – half teaspoon

Red chilli powder- half teaspoon

Turmeric powder- one teaspon

Gram flour – 2 teaspoons

Dried Fenugreek leaves (chopped) – one teaspoon

Oil – half tablespoon

Salt

Procedure :

Grind green chillies, garlic, ginger and coriander into a smooth paste.

Peel potatoes, sweet potatoes and yam. Cut them into large chunks and then make cuts halfway on the pieces in order to stuff them with the green paste.

Place the stuffed potatoes in a vessel and sprinkle some salt on them.

Cut the flat peas lengthwise and apply the paste over them and place them over the potatoes.

Make layers with stuffed yam, stuffed brinjals and sweet potatoes. Sprinkle salt over them.

Finally add green peas at the top and spread the remaining green paste on them. Cover the vessel and let the vegetables marinate for 45 mins.

Afterwards heat the oil in a large pan. Add asafetida and the marinated vegetables alongwith ajwain to it. Mix well. Cover the pan. Let it cook on a slow flame for 15 mins. Stir at regular intervals.

Then add turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder and half a cup of water and mix well. Let the spices come together and after 5 mins add some salt (according to taste).

Add red chilli powder, gram flour and dried fenugreek leaves to it, mix well. Cover it and turn off the flame after a minute.

Garnish with coriander leaves. Undhiyo can be eaten with roti accompanied by a glass of salted buttermilk.

Manjal Kozhukattai – Visual Recipe

Manjal Kozhukattai is a peculiar dish that is not common in many kitchen. It is a traditional dish of a particular one community in the southern part of Tamil nadu. The dish has a very soothing and cooling effect on the body.

Ingredients:

Urad dal (black gram) – 1 measure

Rice – 3 measure

Fenugreek seeds (methi seeds/ venthaiyam) – 2 spoonful

Onions – 4 (big)

Coconut – 1 cup grated

Turmeric powder

Step 1:

Take 1 measure of Urad dal and 3 measures of rice and two spoonful of fenugreek seeds.

Soak Urad dal and fenugreek seeds together and rice separately in water  for 4 hours.

Step 2:

First grind soaked urad dal,  fenugreek and 4 big onions (chopped) together into a fine batter. While grinding add water gradually so that it does not become very watery. Add the soaked rice (without the water) and coconut into the mixture and grind further.

Step 3:

The mixed batter should be in the consistency as shown in the picture below. Transfer it to a vessel from the grinder.

Step 4:

Boil water in a pan. Add turmeric powder.

Step 5:

Make balls out of the mixture and add it to the boiling turmeric water.

Step 6:

The Kozhukattais (dumplings) will start floating once cooked.

And your …

Delicious yellow dumplings Manjal kozhukattai’s are ready to eat. You can eat it simply with chilly-salt powder mixed in oil or you can have it with kurmas, potato stew etc.

See you again with yet another delicious recipe!

Black Til Laddu – Visual recipe

This is a simple, easy to make , healthy traditional snack made with black sesame seeds ( black til seeds) . In Tamil the dish is called Ellu urundai.

Ingredients:

• Black Til (black sesame seeds)
• Jaggery

Step 1: Roast the til (sesame seeds) in low flame till they crackle.

Step 2: Grind the roasted til in mixie grinder  to make a powder. Add shredded jaggery to it and grind again. You will get the final mix like how its shown in the picture below.

Step 3: Make balls  with the mixture. Your delicious black til laddu is ready to eat.

Black til laddu makes a healthy, nutritious and delicious  laddu for your kids.

Eat healthy, Stay healthy.