tomato rice

. Basumathi Raw rice – 2 Cups
2. Ripe Tomatoes (Pureed) – 4
3. Onions – 2
4. Slit Green chilli – 1

Basumathi Raw Rice

Ingredients of Dry powder:
1. Red Chilli powder – 1 and 1/2 Teaspoon(less spicy)
2. Coriander seeds – 1 Tablespoon
3. Bengalgram Dal – 1 Tablespoon
4. Blackgram Dal – 1/2 Tablespoon
5. Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 Teaspoon
6. Asafoetida powder – 1/2 Teaspoon

Ingredients of Dry powder

Ingredients of Seasoning:
1. Mustard seeds – 1 Teaspoon
2. Peanut seeds – 2 Tablespoons
3. Curry leaves – 2 Strands
4. Asafoetida powder – 1/2 Teaspoon
5. Cooking oil for Seasoning – 1 Tablespoon

Ingredients of Seasoning

What you do with what you have:

1. Wash basumathi rice in water drain and keep it aside. When it dries cook it in the cooker adding required quantity of water as usual till done so that each grain is separate when cooked and cooled.
2. Wash and puree tomatoes and also wash, peal and chop onions lengthwise, also slit green chilli and keep it aside as shown in the image below.

Ingredients of Tomato Rice

3. Dry roast Peanuts till you get a pleasant aroma and peal them on cooling.
4. Dry roast all the ingredients of dry powders in a skillet one by one separately. Lastly add chilli powder and on cooling powder them together in the mixer to a medium fine consistency.

Dry Masala powder and roasted peanuts

5. Place a skillet on medium flame with 2-3 teaspoons of cooking oil in it. On heating, add tomato puree from step 2 to it and fry it till it thickens. Keep it aside in a bowl to be added later on to the seasoning.

Tomato puree being fried

6. Seasoning: Place a skillet with 4-5 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on a medium flame. When heated add mustard seeds to it. When it sputters add turmeric powder, asafoetida powder one by one. When fried add curry leaves to it. Now add chopped onions and slit green chilli from step 2 to it and fry it till onions turn transparent while adding required quantity of salt to the dish. When done add fried tomato puree to it and just saute it.

Seasoning in progress

7. Now add dry masala powder, peanuts from step 3 to it and stir it well.

Dry masala powder and peanuts being added to the seasoning

8. Add cooked rice from step 1 to it and mix well. Ready to serve Tomato rice is as shown in the image below.

Ready to serve Tomato Rice

Serve with Tomato Raitha.

Ready to serve Tomato rice with Tomato raitha

Time taken – 1 hour
Serves – 6-8 people

gooseberry pickle

Ingredients:
5-6 big Amlas(AvaLe or Nellikayi)
1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
1/4 tea spn asafoetida(hingu)
1/2 tea spn fenugreek(methi) seeds
1 tea spn chili powder
1 tea spn oil
1/2 tea spn chopped green chilies
1/2 tea spn grated ginger
1 tea spn fresh green unripe pepper
Salt
Do not add white or black peppercorns to this pickle. Only green unripe peppercorns can be used for this. If green peppercorns cannot be found, increase the amount of green chilies and ginger for better taste.
Method:
Cook Amla with 1 cup water and salt(preferrably use cooker for cooking). Remove the seeds and reserve the pulp.
Grind the pulp with mustard, asafoetida, chili powder and 1/4 tea spn fenugreek seeds (Unlike any other pickles, mustard and fenugreek are not fried for this). Water used for cooking Amla can be used for grinding, but do not add more water.
Heat oil and fry chilies, ginger, peppercorns(if using), little salt and 1/4 tea spn fenugreek seeds. Add this to the amla paste and mix well.
Store in an air tight container in refrigerator. It can be consumed immediately. It remains good for atleast 3-4 months (may be more than that).
Preparation time : 30mins

drumstick pickle

INGREDIENTS :

Drumsticks : 4 big
oil : 1 cup
Tamarind pulp : 50 g
chilly powder : 4 tsp
fenugreek powder : 1 tsp
salt : 4 tsp
mustard seeds powder : 2 tsp
turmeric : 1/2 tsp



Method :
1) First wash drumsticks and dry them completly, cut them into finger size pieces. see that it is fully dried otherwise pickle will get spoiled.

2) Take a big bowl and mix all the powders fenugreek Powder, Mustard seeds powder,chilli powder,salt,turmeric powder and keep it aside.

3 )Heat a non stick pan add 1 cup oil sufficient for your pickle .


4) Add chopped drumsticks and fry well. It takes nearly 15-18 mins to boil fully.



5 )When drumsticks are half boiled then add the tamarind pulp and let it boil fully.



6)Switch off the stove and after 5 mins add your mixed powders on it.

7)When it is fully cooled mix well and Put it in a dry container.


8)After 1/2 day pickle is ready to eat.

9)Mix with hot rice and enjoy the spicy,tangy pickle with Vadiyams and papad.

chikkudukayalu pickle

Ingredients:

1. Chikkudukayalu – 2cups
2. Tamarind pulp – 100gms
3. Red chilli powder – 100gms
4. Salt  – to taste
5. Garlic pods – 4
6. Mustard seeds – 1tsp
7. Curry leaves – few
8. Oil – 4tsp
9. Menthigunda/Fenugreek powder – 1tsp

Method:

• Wash and cut Chikkudukayalu into small pieces.
• Heat  2 tsp of oil in pan,fry chikkudukayalu till the seeds are hard enough.Now mix tamarind pulp to the fried beans.To this add redchillipower,salt and Menthi gunda and mix well.
• Finally heat another 2 tso of  oil in a pan,fry garlic pods , mustard seeds,curry leaves and add this to the above pickle and mix well.
• This stays good for 15daysif stored in air tight container.

Note:

After cutting the Broad beans ,dry them on a paper towel so that there is less moisture.This helps the pickle to stay longer

sambar

Sambar Recipe

Prep & Cooking: 45 mts

Serves 4-5 persons

Cuisine: South Indian

.

Ingredients:
1 cup tur dal
3-4 cups of cubed bottlegourd
10-12 small sambar onions (or shallots)
2 medium tomatoes quartered
pinch of turmeric
1 large lemon sized tamarind (extract the juice in 1 cup water)
1 tbsp jaggery or sugar (optional)
1 1/2 tbsps sambar powder
salt to taste
coriander leaves for garnish
For tempering/poppu/tadka:
1/2 tbsp oil/ghee
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida/hing/inguva or 3-4 crushed garlic flakes
2 dry red chilli (tear and de-seed)
10-12 fresh curry leaves

1 Pressure cook dal with 2 cups of water and a pinch of hing. Once pressure cooked, mash, add 2 cups of water, shallots, bottle gourd pieces and turmeric pwd. Bring to a boil, reduce flame and cook for 8-9 mts on low to medium flame.
2 Once vegetables are half cooked, add the tamarind extract, salt and jaggery and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 12-14 mts, till the rawness of the tamarind disappears.
3 Add the sambar pwd and combine well. Let it cook for another 6-7 mts.
4 Heat oil a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add hing and red chillis and roast for a few seconds. Don’t burn them. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately add to sambar.
5 Turn off heat and place lid. Keep covered for at least an hour and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
6 Serve with tiffins or hot steamed rice and appadam (papad).

Note:

Alternatively, you can pressure cook the vegetables with little water in a separate container. Vegetables like chow chow, drumsticks, lady’s finger, carrots, radish and brinjals are also welcome.