The recipes posted here are very simple, with no hard & fast rule, as I love to cook a variety but with ease. My dishes are such that it is nutritious & easy to cook. Of course one can always change the ingredients according to one's taste & availability. Do let me know which type of recipes are preferred, or in case you've any queries too. Feel free to comment.
Mango spread/chutney
Raw mango or slightly ripe mango pieces of 3 big ones sugar 1 cup/more depending on the sour/sweet taste of mango chili pdr 1 tsp salt 1 tsp.
Mix all & keep for some time. Or you may keep it overnight in the fridge. Then put in micro safe dish & micro high for 3 min. covered. Remove stir well & again keep for 6 min., but stirring after every 3 min. when you feel it is thick enough, remove the lid & keep for 1 more min.
This goes well with bread, roti & even dosai.
Paruppu podi ( Dal powder for rice)
Equal quantities of chana dal & arhar dal ( thuar/thuvaram paruppu) or if you like you can slightly more quantity of arhar dal. Red chilies as per taste, also at times when the red chilies are sharp you may need less, approximately for 1 cup of each dal, I’d say 10-15 red chilies, depends on its sharpness. Black pepper 1-2 tsp.
Roast each dal separately with wee bit of oil, add half the quantity of red chilies too after a few min. (this is done as some people like me cough a lot while frying red chilies alone). Once it is golden brown remove, fry the other dal with required chilies, then roast the black pepper & wee bit of hing. Cool & powder all together with salt as per taste.
Dosai milgai podi ( masala pdr for dosai, uttapam, adai & idli)
Equal quantities of chana & white udad dal. If you take 2 cups each, then take 2 cups of white til/sesame seeds ( as sesame seeds are good source of calcium, especially black ones have 400% more than the white ones). Red chilies about 1 ½-2 cups that again depends on its sharpness. Like the previous recipe, better to roast the dal with red chilies to avoid coughing. Roast the sesame seeds till it crackles well, you’ve to be careful while frying dals & sesame seeds, fry on med./low flame, lest they burn. Cool all then powder coarsely, add salt & bottle.
Coconut powder- same as above, minus the sesame seeds, but you’d need slightly more quantities of red chilies, grated coconut about 2 cups, which should be fried without oil on low flame till light brown, also you’d need about small lemon size tamarind to grind with all ( if one likes more tamarind, then you can add slightly more too). Last add salt to taste.
Sesame seeds powder- sesame seeds 1 cup red chilies 6-8 salt. Roast the seeds with chilies, cool & powder, add salt mix well & store. This goes well with rice to eat when one is tired. This does last for some weeks, in cold places even months.
Ps- all these powders will last long provided you use dry spoon & store in clean & dry bottle. In all my recipes, there is no hard & fast rule; you can add slightly more/less of any ingredients, as per your taste. The powders are very useful, especially when made & kept, when one is sick/ or in a hurry, they come very handy, as you’ve to cook rice alone.
