Sweet potato cutlet

I love sweet potato ..but my family members are not fond of it. So I decided to try to make as a cutlet similar to veg Cutlet I used to make with potato. It was a super hit with my family members

Ingredients
Sweet potato -1/2 kg
Onion - 2 no
Green chillies -2
Garlic-3 pods
Ginger- a very small piece
Coriander leaves
Chilli powder-1 tsp
Turmeric powder-1 pinch
Salt to taste
Corn flour- 2 tsp
Bread crumbs
Oil for seasoning - 2 tbsp
Oil for shallow frying

Procedure
Pressure cook sweet potato with enough water ( 3 whistles and 5 minutes in Simmer should be fine) . Once cool peel the skin, mash it and keep aside.

Finely chop the onion, chillies, ginger, garlic and coriander leaves .

Keep tawa in the stove and pour 2tsp  of oil. Once hot, add the finely chopped onion and cook till golden brown. Add the chillies, garlic, ginger ( all finely chopped). Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chilli powder and turmeric powder, salt and saute for a minute in low flame. Add the mashed potato and coriander leaves and mix thoroughly while keeping the stove in low flame for 2 to 3 minutes. Switch of the stove. Let it cool.

 Once cool make it as medium sized balls and the flatten into round shapes.

Take a small bowl. Mix corn flower with water. It should be watery. I use powdered Rusk instead of bread crumbs. 

Dip the flattened sweet potato in corn flour then roll it in the bread crumbs. 

Swallow fry it in oil in medium heat till it becomes golden brown on both sides.

Serve it with coriander chutney or tomato sauce and enjoy as a snack or starter. 

Kudal kulambu

This is my favourite. My mom cooks it deliciously.. As the cleaning process is tedious, many don't cook it. Once the cleaning is done.. cooking is pretty simple. The parts will have stomach and intestines. The inside of the stomach will have rough brown lining. Once we put this in very hot water, then we can very easily remove this by hand.

Coming to the intestines,  in the mutton shop, they will sell as small lengthy tubes. I will show each and every tube in running tap and let the water come through the other end. Then use the stick which we use for taking paniyaram and put it through the tube and slit it open. I will use scissors and cut the stomach and intestines into small pieces. I use lot of hot water through out the cleaning process and clean it thoroughly.  Putting it in hot water, makes the stomach harder (no need to worry about this)
Ingredients
Oil- 1 tbsp
Cinnamon- 1 small stick
Clove-2
Saunf-1/2 tsp
Onion -2
Tomato-2
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Green chillies - 2
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves

To grind
Coconut- 1 handful of small pieces
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Cummin powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Saunf -1/2 tsp

Procedure
Grind coconut, masala  powders, saunf and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Put cinnamon, clove and saunf and let it splutter . Add the onion and cook till it becomes golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and cook till the raw smell goes off. Cook the tomatoes till it becomes soft. Add chillies, curry leaves and the meat. Cook till all the water which comes from the meat dries. Àdd the ground masala, salt and enough water.
 Pressure cook it till 5 to 7 whistles and then cook in simmer for 10 minutes. Switch off the stove. Once the pressure goes check whether the meat is cooked well. Otherwise add enough water and pressure cook it. If cooked well,  then cook without lid for another 5 minutes in simmer. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with rice, idli etc.

Mutton kothu Kari kulambu - Kheema cabbage gravy

This is an another signature dish of my mother, loved by all of us including the grand children. As the next generation in our family is living in different parts of the world, this recipe would help them to relish this delicious dish. This is must try dish for others too.

Ingredients
Mutton : 1/2 kilo
Onion- 2
Tomato- 2
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 3 tsp
Cummin powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Oil- 1 tbsp
Cabbage - 200gms
Green chillies - 2
For seasoning
Saunf - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon- a small piece
Clove- 2 pieces
Procedure


Heat oil in a kadai. Add cloves, cinnamon and saunf . After it splutters , add onions and saute till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and cook till it becomes soft. Add the kheema ( minced meat, kothukkari) and cook till  no water comes from the meat.

Then add the chopped cabbage, curry leaves, green chillies and mix well. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, cummin powder, salt, water and pressure cook .

Cook till  5 whistles and then in simmer for 5 minutes. Switch off the stove.  After the pressure goes, then cook in simmer for 5 minutes without the lid.  Add finely chopped coriander leaves.

I forgot to take a picture of the final cooked dish  and half of it was over before I realised  😃😃😃. Serve with poori or idli. It would be awesome..

Prawn drumstick gravy

My husband told me after visiting his friend's house that he ate drumstick prawn gravy in his house and his mother had prepared it wonderfully. I tried couple of times earlier, I felt this time this came out really well.

Ingredients
Prawns - 1/4 kg
Drumstick - 2
Onion -2
Tomatoes - 2
Green chillies-2
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 2 to 3 tsp
Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
Jeera powder -1/2 tsp
Coconut - small cut pieces one handful
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Curry leaves
Coriander leavers
Cinnamon - one small stick
Cloves -2
Saunf- 1/tsp


Procedure
Grind coconut, chilli powder, coriander powder, jeera powder, turmeric powder  to a smooth paste. Keep the oil in a kadai.  Add clove, cinnamon and saunf.  Then add finely chopped onions and saute till golden brown. Add the green chillies and curry leaves. Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes. Add the tomatoes till cook till soft. Then add the cut drumstick pieces , add water.

 Cook covered for 10 minutes. After this, add the ground Masala, salt and cook covered for 10  minutes. Add the cleaned deveined prawns and cook for 10 minutes or till oil separates on top

Enjoy with rice , chappathi etc..

Ennai kathirikkai

My mother used to make wonderful dishes with Brinjal. This is one of them. I checked other recipes, but none of them had similar ingredients like my mom'said, hence I thought I should post this.
Ingredients
Small white brinjal-200 gms
Medium sized onion -1
Garlic pods- 5 to 6
Pepper- 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - one pinch
Mustard and Urad dhal, curry leaves for seasoning
Gingelly oil- 2 tbsp

Preparation
Take the Brinjal. Wash them, remove the stalk and slit them into 2 or 4 pieces. Don't cut them into pieces but keep it as a whole ( this is applicable if they are the small ones)
Since I had bigger ones, I cut them into them. But retaining the brinjal as a whole with slits is the beauty of the dish. Soak them in water, otherwise it will become black.

Grind onion, pepper and garlic into a smooth paste and keep aside. Keep oil in a pan, add Mustard and Urad dhal and let it splutter.  Add the curry leaves and the brinjal. Add salt and turmeric powder, saute, cook covered in medium flame till the brinjal is half cooked. Then add the ground Masala and chilli powder, mix well.  Cook covered in slow flame with frequent mixing to ensure that it does not get burnt. Add more oil if needed. Cook for around 10 to 15 minutes till the raw smell goes.

Serve hot with rasam or curd rice 

Sweet Banana paniyaram

This recipe is a mix of my mother's and mother in law versions of paniyaram. Both are experts and I took the best part of the recipe out of theirs and integrated them and made this.
Ingredients
Sooji/ rava- 1/2 cup
All purpose Flour- 1/4 cup
Sugar- little less than 1/4 cup
Egg-1
Ripe Banana- medium size 1
Vannila essence- 2 to 3 drops
Cardamom- 2 to 3 pods crushed
Cooking soda- one pinch
Cooking Oil for frying in paniyaram pan

Procedure
Beat the egg in a  bowl . Add the rava and mix thoroughly. Then add the maida, sugar, cooking soda, essence, crushed Cardamom and mix thoroughly. Mash the banana nicely and mix with flour mixture. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

Heat the paniyaram pan and fill 1/4 of the each hole with cooking oil . Once the oil is hot , pour the mixture till the hole gets filled. Cook in medium flame .. once bubbles start appearing in the paniyarams, turn them. Cook in slow heat for 5 minutes. Use a fork or paniyaram kambi to check whether it is cooked. If the paniyaram is cooked, when we poke and take the fork, the flour will not be stuck to it. Take it out.

Pour the next batch . Serve this as snack or breakfast and enjoy...

Sura meen cutlet

I am presenting this  recipe which is my mother in law's with minor modifications.
Ingredients
Sura meen ( shark fish)-250 gas
Potatoes- 250 gms
Onion- 3 to 4 medium sized
Green chillies- 4 to 5
Finely chopped Coriander leaves
Soya sauce- 1 tsp
Ginger- a small piece finely chopped
Garlic- 7 to 8 pods finely chopped
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Chillie powder- 1 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Egg-1
Bread crumbs or rusk powder
Oil - for shallow frying

Procedure
Steam the shark / Sura meen in idli vessel or in case of pressure cooker, cook for 5 minutes with out putting the weight. There will be excess water left over with the flesh after steaming.  Remove the excess water and take only the flesh . Allow it to cool. Once cool,mash it with hands or spoon into smaller pieces.
Boil the potatoes , peel the skin and mash it. Mix both the steamed Sura meen and potatoes together.

Finely chop the onions, chillies, Coriander leaves, ginger and garlic.

Pour 2tsp oil in a Kadai and put the onions. Saute till golden brown. Then add the green chillies, ginger, garlic, Coriander leaves and cook in slow flame for 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the Sura meen and potato mixture,

 Soya sauce and salt. Mix everything thoroughly and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.  Allow it to cool. 

Roll into small balls and then flatten it into circle shape. Dip in egg beaten with salt and pepper. Then roll it in rusk powder. 

Shallow fry in oil with frequent tossing.  

Serve it hot with sauce.

Seer fish/Vanjiram fish egg fry

I am very fond of fish egg fry. When we were children, the man who came our house in his cycle with variety of fishes routinely, used to give fish eggs free and my  mom used to fry them and give them hot hot to us. We were strict nonvegetarians, non veg was part of most of our meals and my mom is an excellent cook. After shifting to Chennai, I got fish eggs couple of times, but today I was fortunate to get huge Vanjiram fish eggs. But I had to give a huge price similar to the fish rates.
Ingredients
Fish eggs
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Jeera powder
Pepper powder
Ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
I am not mentioning the measures, based on the size and quantities of fish eggs you get, you may decide accordingly.  You may take similar measures as if you take for fish fry.
Procedure
The eggs will have thin layer of membranes. Carefully remove the top layer .

This step should be done carefully, otherwise, the eggs will become fragmented. Wash them carefully and gently. You may use turmeric powder during washing.  Cut them into pieces. Take all the Masala ingredients and make a smooth paste. Smear it on the egg pieces and marinate for half an hour.

Shallow fry in slow frame with frequent turning till it becomes nice brown and crispy on the out side.

Serve it hot hot and enjoy...

Easy Carrot Halwa

Having a sweet tongue, I enjoy sweets. Once my chinna mamiyaar Mrs. Thangalakshmi sent me carrot Halwa. She also shared with me the recipe which is my Sister in law Anandhi's. Thanks to them. I don't whether today what I am sharing with you is the exact recipe, but it had come out well . This is a very easy recipe, each bachelors can try when they feel like having a sweet at a much lesser cost.

Ingredients
Carrot- 250gms
Milk- 2-3  tbsp
Milkmaid-75 ml
Ghee- 3 tsp
Preparation time: 15 minutes

Preparation
Scrape the Carrot.  Keep it a microwave bowl .Add the milk. Keep it in the microwave for 5 minutes.  Then add the milk maid. Mix it well. According to your taste, you may increase or decrease the quantity of milk maid. There is no need to add sugar.. keep it again in the microwave for 2 minutes.

Add 2 tsp Ghee to bowl after taking it out of the microwave. Mix it well. According to your taste you may add more Ghee.  Keep it in the microwave for 5 minutes. If you find it little bit watery, keep for another couple of minutes. Take it out of MW. Fry some cashews in the remaining Ghee , garnish.

Serve it hot with ice-cream