Lemon Pickle

I made this pickle with the lemons I got from our backyard. I made lemon rice using one last week and the I used 4 lemons for making this pickle. Felt so good.  This is basically my patti's recipe. But most of us use the same recipe to make pickle.  Here goes the recipe:-

Ingredients:-

1. Lemon - 4 Nos (Medium sized - US lemons)
2. Salt to taste
3. Red chillies powder - 2 tsp (acc to taste)
4. Sesame oil - 3 tbsp
5. turmeric powder - 1 tsp
6. Fenugreek - 2tsp
7. Mustard  - 1/4 tsp +1/2 tsp
8. Asafoetida powder - few pinches.

First cut the lemon into small cube sized. Sprinkle the required amount of salt on it and keep it aside in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days depending upon how well the lemon is soaked. Mine took 3 days to soak fully in salt.  When you are ready to make pickle, first dry roast fenugreek and mustard (1/4 tsp) and grind it into fine powder.Preheat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, add turmeric powder and red chilli powder and let it fry for couple of minutes. Do not burn it. Add the ingredients to the soaked lemon and mix it  well.  Now add the ground fenugreek & Mustard powder to it and mix it well. Let it  soak for couple of hours  before we start using it.  Store it in a air tight container and can be used for one week to 10 days.

Appalam Vathakozhambu

This is another kozhambu I tried when we were in Chennai.  I got the recipe from a aunt who visits our place very often and she is a very good cook too. I just followed the same recipe.

Ingredients:-

• Tamarind -a medium lemon sized
• ulundhu Papad/appalam - 3 or 4 acc to the required quantity
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Sambar powder - 3/4 tsp (acc to taste)
• Salt to taste
• Hing -  a pinch
• Sesame Oil - 3 tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dhall - 1/2 tsp
• Red chillies - 1
• curry Leaves - few for garnishing

  Ingredients required for roast and Grind:-

• Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
• Channa dhall - 1 tsp
• Uradh dhall - 1 tsp
• Pepper  - 1 tsp (acc to taste)
• Red chillies - 2 or 3 (acc to taste)
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 1/2 tsp

Soak tamarind in water for half hour. In the mean time, dry roast the ingredients given for roasting and let it cool. Squeeze out water from the tamarind and keep it aside. Grind the roasted ingredients and keep it aside. Now take a heavy bottomed pan, . preheat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add urad dhall & red chillies and fry it till it becomes red. Now add appalam pieces to it and fry it for few seconds. Now add the tamarind water, turmeric powder, sambar powder, salt and let it boil for five minutes. Now the ground powder to the boiling kozhambu and let it boil for another 7 to 10 minutes. A nice aroma will come after few minutes. Once you get the required consistency, switch off the stove.  Serve it hot with hot rice.

Excess roasted powder can be stored in an air tight container and can be used in future.

Snake Gourd Usli - Podalanga Paruppu Usli

Podalanga Usli

I finally managed to find time to write a blog post after almost 6 months.  This is something I made when we were in Chennai. Till then I never knew that we can make paruppu usli with podalanga. My MIL said, its a common dish in Thanjavur iyer families. I was not very sure whether I should try making this one. But that particular day I had no choice. So I tried this one and it came out pretty good. This is how it goes..








Ingredients:-

• Snake Gourd - 2 medium sized (cut it into tiny cubes)
• Toor dhall - 1 cup
• channa dhall - 1/2 cup
• urad dhall - 1 tbsp
• Rice - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• curry leaves - few
• Red chillies -2
• Green chillies - 1
• Asafoetida powder - apinch
• Salt to Taste

First soak toor dhall, urad dhall, channa dhall, and rice in water for atleast an hour or two. In the mean time, wash the snake gourd. Cut it into small pieces and cook it. When it is fully cooked, keep it aside. Now grind the soaked dhall and rice mixture adding salt, green chillies and red chillies to it.

Grind the dhall + rice + turmeric powder + chillies + salt in to a fine paste. Steam cook it in a idly pan, for 15 mts. Allow it cool and scramble them. Keep it aside. Take a pan, pre heat oil, add mustard seeds when it splutters add curry leaves and asafoetida powder and fry it till golden brown. Now add the steam cooked dhall to it. Fry it till the dall becomes softer. Now add the cooked snake gourd to it and mix everything well. Turn off the stove. This is the traditional way of making paruppu usili.