RCI - Pondicherry Cuisine Roundup

Cham say's " Being a Pondy native is a serene place to live on earth! ".

Now About Pondicherry in Cham's word's..

Pondicherry, recently crown as Puducherry is my native place. Situated along the coastline of Bay of Bengal, is rich in culture, attracts many tourists around the world.The small coastal city stands alone for his rich and unique history, fought for his own Independence (August 16 is celebrated as Pondicherry Independence) against the French rulers. Dutch were the first to settle down and hand over to the French later.Many freedom activists like Aurobindo and Subramaniam Bharati - tamil Poet took refuge in French territory and acted again the Bristish government.The French people distinguished the city in two main parts: Ville blanche (French quarters) where still French people live. Many French institutions, including French schools, french consulate, oldest Church are located in these beautifully paved road.If you are someone who is looking to stay in peace at Pondy, don’t want to wake up by the street vendors voice, no horn sounds, practically no kids playing, you can hear the lullaby of beach waves! Well, you got to book a hotel in French quartier!

Overall, you can feel the French flair everywhere; all the roads are perfectly angled (Thanks to Dutch for planning the city!) and all roads end to the beach road! Many buildings preserve the French architecture, the bold paint color, the street name are still in French and Tamil. The most important thing, a clean city, those who already visited should agree with!One can perfectly, visit the whole town by walk or by bike ride! Many interesting places are : The beach which is main attraction, Aurobindo Ashram where Mother and Aurobindo are resting (spirituality area), Auroville (MatriMandir) attracts many Internationnal tourists each year to discover integral Yoga, Manakula Vinayagar ( Ganesha temple), Chunambar (for boating pleasure in backwater), etc...

Coming to the Indo-Franco cuisine, many Indians (Pondicherrian) stayed in France and moved back to Pondicherry. Their cuisine got a touch of Indo-french style, like spicy steak seasoned with black pepper, savory crepes eaten with chutney!

Proudly Presenting RCI-Pondicherry Roundup.........

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Butternut Squash and Potato Bisque from Asha.





A Nice Flavourfull Bisque, with Indian Vegetables and many Herb's. A Indo-French Treat from Asha!

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Poivrons Farcis from Cham




Poivrons is Bellpepper in French. These Bellpeppers are stuffed with Indian style Rice and Soy Granule's and baked. isnt it delicious? Thank You Cham!

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Tandoori Potatoes from Jamie





Paneer on Potato cup's baked to perfect is another Indo-french treat from Jamie.

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Stuffed Cabbage from Aarthi.





Aarthi's first event debut. Welcome Aarthi! Stuffed Cabbage sound's Great.

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Vegetable Kurma from Raaga.





Lovely Colourfull Vegetable Kuruma from Raaga.

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Sambar Rice from Pooja




Pooja Prepared these Yummy Shallot Sambhar Sadham for Tamil Cuisine.

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Araichivitta Sambhar for Idli, Dosa's from Lavi




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Spicy Chettinaad Mushroom Masala from Lavi




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Kadugu Yerra Recipe followed for Kadugu Aloo Gobi from Vani




I want to try this dish soon. Look's absolutely Yum!

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Curried Vegetables from Aarthi




A easy simple curry of vegetables from Aarthi.

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Thenga Manga Pattani Sundal from Priya





A Famous Snack we get on Pondicherry Beach. Cool Breeze and spicy sundal on hand is to die for..

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Pepper Mushroom Curry from Priya





Mushroom Look's so Spicy!!

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Kadala Kuzhambu from Priya





A Great dish for Rice to pack for Lunch.

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Spicy Mint Pesarattu from Uma




My favourite Pesarat-Andhra Special..Thanks Uma..

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A2ZVegetarian Cuisine have send a handfull of entries for RCI-Pondicherry. Thank u A2Z.


Adai from a2zvegetariancuisine



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Pumpkin Pongal Sambar from a2zvegetariancuisine



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Eggplant Gothsu from a2zvegetariancuisine


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Kollu Rasam from a2zvegetariancuisine




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Garlic Rasam from a2zvegetariancuisine



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Lemon Rasam from a2zvegetariancuisine



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Quick Idli Sambar from a2zvegetariancuisine



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Avial from a2zvegetariancuisine



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Mixed Vegetable Gothsu from a2zvegetariancuisine



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Ice-cream sandwich from Malini



This is a great sandwitch, to have a byte!

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French Vanilla Ice-cream Sundae from Malini




Malini's drool worthy French Vanilla Ice-Cream!

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Pondicherry green beans from Meera



These Green Beans should be yummy with Rasam or Sambhar Rice..

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Kothamalli Chutney from Cilantro.



Spongy Idli's and Green Cilantro Chutney beautifully represent a Tamil Break-fast palatte. Thank's for the entry Cilantro!

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I could'nt do the roundup in time, sorry for the delay. Hope i havent missed any of your entries. if i have missed any of your entries or if you find any broken link's, kindly let me know by mailing to glassofhoney(AT)gmail(dot)com. That will be helpfull!

Thank You Participant's for sending me Great entrie's, You all made the event success!

Thank You Lakshmi for the wonderfull opportunity given to host RCI-April Edition.

Continue Reading.. »

Puthina, Karivepillai Thuvayal [Mint, Curry Leaves Chutney]

Mint and Curry Leave's are like twin sister's. You can pair them both in many of your dish'es. Both help's in digestion. Having Mint Leave's chutney once aweek is good for you. This chutney taste's little bitter, because of the curry leave's. but you should not mind it for a healthy reason. If you are a curry leaf lover like me, then you will definetly love this strong aromatic flavoured chutney.

Little tamarind, and coconut add's great taste to this chutney.

How to Prepare?

* Take a Cup of Mint leave's. Wash and saute them in a pan, till they shrink.

* A Cup of Curry Leaves should be washed.

* Have 1/4 cup of grated coconut and a bit of tamarind.

* Heat a tsp of oil in a Tadka pan, add a tsp of urad dal, and fry till it turn golden color. add these urad dal to mint leaves and curry leaves. add 3 dry Red Chilli's, grated coconut, salt to taste and 2 tbsp of water and grind them into a nice paste.

* Heat 1/4 tsp of oil in Tadka pan, add 1/4 tsp mustard seed's, let it pop and add it to the chutney/Thuvayal.

Mix these Thuvaiyal/Chutney with Rice, have rasam on top, for a perfect soothing onto your throat.

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Sundakaai Kara Kuzhambhu

Sundakaai, was not at all my favourite. one day my Keerakara amma made me buy a pack of sundakka. When i tried it in dal, i liked it, it is not as bitter as it is in vathal/dry salted form. Then i tried this karakuzhambhu, we liked it and now iam buying a pack of sundakka, once a month. It improves digestion. Now-a-day's, i take much care to add digestive aid's to the food we cook. The following are some of the digestive friendly, that can be added to our cooking, Ginger-Garlic, corriander seed's, Cumin Seed's, Saunf, corriander leaves, Mint leaves and curry leave's.

Coming to Sundakka, It is called as Turkey Berry in English. Its vastly used in Tamil cuisine and Thaai Cuisine. Check more about it in Wiki.

Again Iam repeating..Green Sundakka don't taste bitter. it just gives a subtle taste.

I prepared the kara kuzhambhu, as i prepare Vatha Kuzhambhu, but with less oil.

Ingredients:

Sundakkai - 20 (remove its stem & cut into half or just crush each, with spice grinder stone mortor.)
Garlic - 7 pod's
Shallots/small onions - 1/2 cup(min 10 in no.)
Tomato-1
Dhania powder/Corriander Powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Sambhar Powder - 1 tbsp
Tamarind- a small lime sized ball
Oil-1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal or Bengal gram dal- 1/2 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves-10

Method:

* Remove the stem and Wash the sundakka's and Crush each sundakka or cut them into half and keep aside.

* Soak the Tamarind in half a cup of luke warm water for 5 minute's. Squeeze the tamarind and get ready with your tamarind water. Add a pinch of turmeric powder, 1 tbsp Corriander powder, 1 tbsp Sambhar Powder and little salt to the tamarind water and mix well. keep it aside.

* Get ready with your shallot's and Garlic.

* Now Heat a Thick Bottomed Vessel or kadaai, add oil, when it's heated, add mustard and let it pop. now add methi seed's, curry leave's, garlic and shallot's/small onion's. saute them well. add the finely chopped tomato and saute it along.

* Add the sundakkai and saute it for half a minute. Now add the Tamarind water and mix well. Lower the flame and close the kadaai with a lid, and let it sit on low flame for about 10 minutes, till the sundakka gets cooked.

Serve it hot Rice.

You can prepare this dish, for a person, who have recovered from fever. its really good to improve the taste bud's. and also improves digestion.

Sundakka Vathal / Dry Turkey Berry:

If you want a home-made medicine to improve your digestion, then here it is.

1. Heat two tbsp of oil in a pan.

2. Put some 10-15 sundakka vathal and fry them for a minute.

3. Crush the fried sundakka and put it in a bowl of rice and have a tsp of ghee and mix well with the rice. consume it to improve your digestion. Repeat this for a Week on every meal.

Check my sundakka dal here. its the basic dal recipe. remove the stem of sundakka and crush the sundakka and cook it in a cup pf water for about 5 minute's and then add to the dal. Moong dal is preferred. it tasted so good too..

Have a Great Week end!!

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Is Killing Innocent people termed as War?

Iam having sleepless night's, since i saw LTTE leader Velu Pillai Prabhakaran's body on news channel's. iam reading all the blog post's that carry his name, its all because i have respect for him, as he leaded to fight back the SL govt. for all these year's. Past is Past, From now on, Tamil's in Srilanka should also be given equal rights and treated equally. We have a Srilankan Tamil family residing in our apartment. One day, an elderly uncle from them came and told me, that his brother was killed in the fight. I could not look into his eye's, as it carried lot's of Tearfull Storie's to tell. Is Killing Innocent people termed as War?

I stop here, but my mind is keeping on asking me, WHY THE WHOLE WORLD COULD NOT CONTROL?

Continue Reading.. »

Beans Usili - Microwave Version

Bean's Poriyal and Beans Usili are the Poriyal's that i cook alternatively every week. Usili is my favourite, and i love cooking this in microwave for a less oil version of usili. If you feel, that cooking dal's in microwave makes it harder, then you have to sprinkle some water over it, to get them cooked soft.

A Protein and Fibre Packed South Indian Poriyal.

Bean's Usili - Microwave Version

[Serves - 2]

Soaking Time: 2 hrs.

Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes.

Ingredients:

Bean's - 250 gms
Toor/Tuvar Dal - 1 cup
Chana Dal - 1 cup
Dried Red chillies- 3
Turmeric powder - 1/ 4 tsp
Fennel / Saunf / Sombu - 1/2 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves- 10
Oil- 1 tsp

Method:

Soak the Toor,Chana dals and chillies for 2 hours. Drain and Grind them with Saunf/fennel, little salt and with 1 tbsp water into a coarse paste. Crumble them into small pieces.

Spread them on a Microwave safe Bowl and Microwave it on High for three minute's.

Chop your bean's into half-inch size. and microwave them on high for about 5 minute's.

In a pan, Heat oil, add mustard and some saunf. add urad dal, and fry till they turn golden color. add Curry leaves, The microwaved and crumbled dal. coat them with oil and fry them for a minute.

Now add the cooked bean's and mix well with the dal. fry them for a minute in a slow flame.

Serve hot with Rasam or kuzhambhu.

Why Do we Add Saunf / Sombu ?

Fennel seeds can relax the intestines and reduce digestive disorders. In this way, Hard to digest Dal's easily digest's with the use of saunf.

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A.W.E.D - Japanese Cuisine - Presenting the Roundup

Japanese Food is Flavourfull and its texture is unique and it tastes different too. Rice texture in the form of sushi roll is an example. Cold Udon Noodles is a famous dish, which is served with veggies or tofu. Tofu is added on soup's as it plays a vital role in Japanese Cuisine. Vegetable Tempura, Deep Fried Tofu's are Perfect Vegan Treat.

It was a Great Chance for me to learn about Japanese Cuisine, and trying out few recipe's from it. I also had great wrap-up with the blogger's who had send me entry. Thanks DK for the Wonderfull Chance given to me. Hope i have done some justice to it.

Here I Present A.W.E.D - Japan Roundup.



Mugicha (Roasted barley tea) from Cham.

Mugicha (roasted barley tea) is a tisane, made with roasted barley. Very popular drink in Japan. Try this Healthy Drink!



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Japanese green tea sorbet from PJ. A Perfect Cool Japanese Sorbet for this Summer.



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Pink Diamonds (Jelly made with Agar-Agar) from DK. Simple, Delicious Pink Diamonds from DK. Thanks for the opportunity given to host A.W.E.D. it was real fun to explore Japanese Cuisine.



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Kasutera, Japanese Honey Sponge Cake from Asha.
Spongy, Japanese Cake with aroma of honey and dusting of confectioner's sugar on top looks absolutely Delicious. Check out for Sure.



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Daifuku from Lavi



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Hakusai Cabbage N Tofu Cream soup from Priya. Simple soup with chinese cabbage, milk, vegetable stock water and tofu.



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Deep Fried Tofu from Lavi



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Gyoza from Madhumathi. Japanese Dumplings with Cabbage as stuffing served with sauce.



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Potato Korokke from Siri. Japanese croquette called 'Korokke'. Its usually made with vegetables.Siri has tried it out with mashed potatoes and it looks so Perfect!



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Okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake) from Cham. Cabbage and batter are mixed together to make Okonomiyaki, a Japanese savory pancake or pizza. Cham says its ideal for a nivice pancake maker to try.



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Rainbow Sushi from Simran. Simran has tried wrapping different colors of veggie's in Sushi Roll. Peeping vegetable's, tempts us to pick up one roll!



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Kappa Maki (Cucumber Rolls) from Priya. A simple cucumber rolls with sushi rice. Priya Says, Making Sushi Roll is quite easy.



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Cucumber Tsukemono from Christine.Tsukemono are Japanese pickles. Worth of Trying! Christine also shares Japanese Spinach Roll in the same post, with sesame dressing that look's great too!



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Japanese daikon carrot salad from PJ. 'Daikon' comes from two Japanese words: dai -meaning large and kon-meaning root. PJ has used Carrot and Radish to prepare this Yummy Salad.



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Cold Udon Noodles with Peanut Sauce from Pavani. Noodles packed with peanutty flavor and packed with veggies. Look's Great!



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Stewed hijiki seaweed with carrots from Ksenia. Hijiki is stewed or cooked with other ingredients. This staple is packed with a lot of minerals. a Healthy shot from Ksenia.



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Okonomiyaki aka "Japanese Pizza" from Soma.Okonomiyaki means “whatever you like, grilled” in Japanese. Soma follows it for an Yummy Pizza for us.



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Soba Noodle Salad with Vegetables and Wasabi Sauce from Sweatha.Soba Noodle's with mushroom, zucchini, carrot's and wasabi sauce. Looks Splendid!



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Udon Noodle Stir fry from DK. Look out Dk's step by step picture's of this Yummy Healthy Udon Noodle with Green's.



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Udon Primavera from Meera. Meera has added some Great Veggie's of her choice to make this Udon a healthy Treat.



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Yakisoba Noodles from Priya.A.W.E.D - Japan event made Priya Venture Japanese Cusine. Check out this Yakisoba Noodle's with Tofu and Veggie's.



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Chilled Sesame Udon Salad from Priya. This Chilled Udon Noodle's with Sesame from Priya has to be tried.



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Vegetarian Tempura from Graziana.Vegetable Tempura with Sweet Potato, Pumpkins and Mushroom. Tempura is a classic Japanese dish of deep fried battered vegetables served on rice.



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Yakisoba noodles from Malini. Another Yakisoba Noodles with capsicum's.



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Spicy Chilli Capsicum Tofu from Malini. A spicy tofu dish. This should be great with Noodles.



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Thank You all Participants, You all made this event Look Great and its going to be usefull for the foodie's to try on your recipe's. Hope i have not left any of your entries, if i have left, it might be because of my mistake and please let me know about it by mailing to glassofhoney(AT)gmail(dot)com.

Also Have a Look on next A.W.E.D - Srilanka MAY Edition on Siri's blog.

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Kothamalli Chutney and Green Chutney for Sandwitch

Finding out some cooking secret's from my mom is very difficult. but i will try my most to pull out the secret. Corriander leaves was one secret, she used for her delicious Paneer Masala. after trying Paneer masala, i loved adding corriander leaves, to all my gravy's. it alway's gives a nice taste to the gravy. its a healthy green too. here iam going to share two different forms of Corriander Chutney. One is Corriander Stem Chutney, that can be served for idli, dosa and vada's. and the other one is Green Chutney with Corriander leaves and Mint/Puthina Leaves, that can be used as a spread for sandwitch.

Corriander Stem Chutney / Kothamalli Kaambu Chutney:

Ingredients:

1. Corriander Leave's - 2 tbsp
2. Corriander stem's - 15 (refer the above picture)
3. Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
4. Green Chilli - 2
5. Roasted Gram / Pottukadalai - 1 tbsp
6. Oil for seasoning - 1/4 tsp
7. Mustard - 1/2 tsp
8. Split Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Wash the Corriander leaves and stem's.

Grind the corriander leaves and stem's along with Grated coconut, green chilli, roasted gram, salt and few tbsp's of water. add water, as in what consistency, you need it.

Heat 1/4 tsp of oil in a pan, add Mustard, when it crack's add urad dal. when the urad turn's golden colour, switch off the flame and pour the mustard, urad dal over the chutney.

It taste's extraordinary. Try it out, to find the difference. Taste's perfect with Idli, Dosa and Vada's.

Green Chutney for Sandwitch:

Ingredients:

Half bunch of corriander leaves,
a small cup of mint leaves ( sauted for a minute in pan),
2 green chilli's,
1/4 cup grated coconut and
ginger of half-inch size.

Method:

All grinded into chutney, with few spoon's of water and salt.

It tasted great with Sandwitch and idli's. dont avoid the coconut, it surely reduces the soarness of corriander leaves. Today, we had egg's over this green chutney spreaded over sandwitch bread. it tasted so Good.

How about Idli Sandwitch??

Spread some green chutney on flat side of one idli and some tomato sauce on other idli's flat side.
insert, veggie's of your choice, Greated cheese, inbetween two idli's and serve it with chutney and sauce.

Hope you like both the chutney's.
Both the chutney's are for Dear Cilantro's JFI- Cilantro.

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Daifuku - Japanese Sweet

First Let me Tell You, that you can send your entries for A.W.E.D - Japan till May 10th.

When I first Came across this Wonderfull Sweet in Veganyumyum. I loved the stuffing and the recipe, was resembling our Modak / Kozhukattai recipe. I wanted to give it a try, and when i have a reason for it, why should i delay, and when i tried it, i found it to be so easy. adding Adzuki bean's/Thatta Payir as stuffing, made this an healthy sweet too. I could not produce, the actual endresult, as the Modak preparation took over me. But iam sure, when the recipe give here is followed, you will relish it definetly.

Adzuki Bean's Before and After Soaking.

and this was the first time, i tried these adzuki bean's called as Thatta Payir in Tamil and generally called as Red Chori bean in India. The stuffing part with this adzuki bean tasted so Good. This was the one, which highlighted the taste.

So Click Here for Recipe..

This delicious sweet is for A.W.E.D-Japan.

You can send your entries to A.W.E.D - Japan, till May 10th, as i will do the roundup only by the weekend.

and I have a small wish. Japanese Love Cake is a Famous Dessert in Japan.
Here is the Recipe. the below are the ingredient's.

if any one could bake this cake, i will surely cherish and celebrate your attempt! Looking forward for your entrie's and reply's..

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Araichivitta Sambhar for Idli , Dosa's

Me and My hubby are great fans of Saravana Bhavan Sambhar. But ever since i tried Suganya's Sambhar, we both liked it a lot, and iam sure, now Saravana Bhavan Sambhar had taken a backseat. I even enjoy preparing this sambhar, as it just takes very less time. Peeling the shallot's/ Madras Onion's is one small job here. This is best with Idli, Dosa's and Vada's. you can check Suganya's recipe. I have modified the quantity of ingredient's and the preparation method according to my way. i assure you, this is a Fool Proof one.

Have one cup of Toor Dal and a fistfull of Moong Dal and Pressure cook them untill 4-5 whistle's. till they are fully cooked and become mashy, when mashed.

You can do the Following, when you Pressure Cook the Dal:

* Peel the outer skin of some 10-15 shallot's/ Chinna Vengayam and Keep them aside.

* Have a small lemon size of Tamarind soaked in a cup of warm water. soak for atleast 5 minute's.

* Heat a Pan, Fry the Following by adding one by one in the same order. it takes 2 minute's.

• Corriander Seed's / Dhania - 1 tsp
• Chana Dal / Kadala Paruppu - 1 tsp
• Raw Rice / Arisi - 1 tsp
• Cumin / Seeragam - 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek / Vendhayam - 1/4 tsp
• Dry Red Chilli / Kanja Milagaai - 3 no.
• Grated Coconut / Thuruviya Thengaai - 1 tbsp

Grind them into a dry powder.

* Add 3 shallot's and half of a tomato to the above Grinded powder and add 2 tbsp of water and grind them into a thick paste. Keep them aside.

* In a Pan / Kadaai, Heat 2 tsp of oil, add 1 tsp mustard, 1/4 tsp Fenugreek, 1 tsp Urad Dal, 1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder, 2 Dry Red chilli's and 10 curry leave's.

* Now add the remaining 12 shallot's, and saute them, till they are semi-cooked. add a chopped tomato and saute along with shallot's. Now add the Grinded paste and add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and saute them for a minute, till the raw smell of onion's and masala's goes off.

* Add the Mashed Toor and Moong Dal mix to the Pan/ Kadaai. mix well with the masala's.

* Add the cup of Tamarind water and mix well. add half cup of water to make the sambhar little watery.

* Add salt and 2 tbsp chopped corriander leave's. let the sambhar boil for 2 minute's and switch off the flame.

This Sambhar is flavourfull with Fenugreek, Asafoetida, corriander leaves and shallot's. it's heavenly with idli, dosa's.

Now this Araichivitta Sambhar leave's to RCI-Pondicherry, under Tamil Cuisine.

You can send Tamil Cuisine special's, Andhra Cuisine Special's and Kerala Cuisine Special's to RCI-Pondicherry.

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