Drumstick Leaves Majige Huli / Mor Kolumbu

Drumstick tree is the most nutrient tree in the world, its root,bark,leaves,flowers and pods can cure more than 300 diseases (according to Ayurveda) . "Drumstick" tree (moringa oleifera) is an "all-natural multi-vitamin” and a natural energy booster and its leaves contain high amounts of Vitamin A (four times more than carrots), Vitamin C (seven times more than oranges), protein (twice that of milk), iron(three times the iron of spinach) calcium (four times more than milk) and potassium (triple the amount in bananas) and are low in fat and carbohydrates.The leaves and pods are highly effective in preventing/reversing vision related problems and respiratory ailments, especially in children.

The juice from the moringa leaves is believed to stabilize blood pressure, the flowers are used to cure inflammations, the pods are used for joint pain, the roots are used to treat rheumatism, and the bark can be chewed as a digestive and the gum that exudes from the stem is used to treat headaches

Drumstick info courtesy http://indiacuisine.blogspot.com/2006/02/whb-moringa-tree-drumstick-leaves-soup.html

Drumstick leaves do bring some fond memories back. Growing up it was not available where I lived but used to enjoy it whenever i visited my grandparents. My in-laws had a tree in their backyard too. Strange to say I have never seen anyone selling these leaves, when ever these leaves were needed it was available fresh in the backyard. My mother - in - law saw these leaves in chinese store here and she got it home. Since it had a different name we were still not sure if they were the right kind of leaves but we still braved it and were very happy to have finally found the leaves in the US. The classic way of eating this is to top them over Adai. After reading the nutritious facts of the leaves I felt the need to use it regularly but running out of recipes thought of trying them in Majige Huli. Not bad...Not bad at all

Ingredients

Drumstick leaves - 3 cups

Buttermilk - 2 cups

Toor Dal - 1 tsp

Channa Dal - 1 tsp

Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp

Dhania - 1 tsp

Ginger 1/2 inch

Green Chillies - 2 (adjust as per taste)

Grated coconut 2 tsp

Turmeric and salt

Method

Soak Toor dal, Channa dal and methi seeds for an hour or till they become soft. Take 1/2 tsp oil in a pan fry channa dal, toor dal, methi seeds, dhania, ginger and green chillies till the raw smell has gone. Add coconut to this mixture and grind to a fine paste. Mix this paste to butter milk, mix well without lumps. Now take oil in a pan add the drumstick leaves add little water and cook for about 2-3 minutes till the leaves cook. Add the buttermilk, turmeric and salt mix well. Keep stirring this mixture and cook it in medium/low flame for a few more minutes. Serve hot with Rice and your favorite vegetable.

Paneer Bhurji

A quick recipe of grated Paneer and vegetables that is scrumptious. Paneer or Cottage Cheese is very versatile, it can be used in appetizers, main course or desserts. Paneer is readily available in indian groceries but if you are worried about the fat and calories you can easily make it at home using 2% milk

I made Paneer Bhurji for dinner and had some leftover so used it as spread on some wheat bread and had it for Lunch YUUMMMMYYY!!!

Ingredients

Grated paneer - 2 cups

Onion - 1 small

Capsicum - 1 small

Tomato puree - 2 tbsp

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1tbsp

Kitchen King/Garam Masala - 2 tsp

Cardamom - 3

Green Chillies - 2 (adjust as per taste)

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Salt, Turmeric

Cilantro for garnishing

Butter

Melt butter in a pan, add crushed cardamom and let it fry a while. Add cumin, onions, capsicum and fry. Add the ginger garlic paste, green chillies and tomato puree. Add turmeric, kitchen king, salt and grated paneer. Mix well and cook till paneer is soft and incorporated with all the spices. Garnish with Cilantro and serve hot with Roti, paratha or Nan.

Variations

Add 1/2 a cup of beaten curd if you want the dish to be in a little gravy form. You can also make this dish using Tofu.

Use tomatoes instead of puree. Use red, orange, yellow and green capsicum.

Cucumber Palya

This is a simple recipe. Really love the blend of cucumber and peanuts in this recipe. I think peanut do add a unique flavor to any recipe and also an extra crunch to this recipe. This palya can be served as a side dish to rice and dal, sambhar or rasam. Try it once and I am sure it will be a regular dish in you home.

Ingredients

Cucumbers - 3 large (peeled and chopped)

Peanuts - 3 tbsp roasted (grind coarsely)

Mustard seeds, Urad dal, channa dal, curry leaves, green chillies, cumin for seasoning

oil - 1 tbsp

turmeric

cilantro for garnishing

Method

Take oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, when they splutter add cumin, urad dal, channa dal when they turn brown add green chillies and curry leaves. Add the cucumbers, turmeric and salt. Mix well and let it cook do not add water. When the cucumbers are cooked add the peanuts and cilantro and mix well. Serve hot

Pineapple Gojju / Vetha Kozhambu

MMmmmmm. Just saying the word Gojju / Vetha Kozhambu makes my mouth water. This dish is a nice blend of sweet, sour and spice along with the flavor of the vegetable or in this case the fruit in it.

Typically the main ingredient in gojju is tamarind for that sour taste but I have skipped tamarind in this recipe because pineapple already has the sour taste to it. Hence the cooking time is also reduced as you don't have to boil the tamarind water to remove the raw flavor.

The first time I tasted this dish was in a temple in India fell in love with it instantly but forgot all about it until recently had a taste of it again in a temple in New Jersey. Well after a lot of trails and errors I finally hit the Jackpot and discovered this amazing recipe. Now I am proud to post this on my blog by popular demand from friends and family. Enjoy!!!!

Ingredients

Dole Crushed Pineapple - 1 tin

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Sesame seeds - 6 tsps

Coconut dry - 3 tsps

Red Chillies - 4 (adjust as per taste)

Curry Leaves, salt, hing, mustard seeds, oil

Method

Dry roast coriander seeds, Methi seeds, Urad dal, Sesame Seeds and Red Chillies seperately. Let it cool. Add coconut to this and grind to a fine paste. Now take oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, when it splutters add hing and curry leaves. Add the paste try not to add water as the gravy need to be a little thick, add salt and turmeric powder and mix well. To this add the crushed pineapple and mix . Bring it to a boil and switch off the gas it need not cook for long. Serve hot with plain rice and a dollap of ghee on top.

Variation:

You can also make this recipe using Raw Mangoes instead of Pineapple. The only difference is peel and cut the mango in 1 inch cubes and cook it seperately in water with Jaggery, salt and turmeric added to it till it is soft and then follow the above recipe. This recipe was given to me by co-sister Roopa who is also a great cook and never tires experimenting with new dishes.

Dal Fry

Dal and rice is really a comfort food for most of us. This recipe takes about 15 minutes to make, tastes delicious.

Ingredients

Toor Dal - 1 cup

Small Onion - 1

Green chillies - 2

Jeera - 1 tsp

turmeric a pinch

salt,oil

Garlic - 2 pods

Curry leaves

Cilantro/coriander

Mint leaves - 4

Method

Cook dal along with garlic in cooker. Take oil in a pan. Add jeera, when it splutters add green chillies and curry leaves. Now add onions and cook for a while. Add turmeric, dal, salt. Mix well and bring it to a boil. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro and mint leaves. Cook some more. Serve hot with rice. YUM

It is ok to skip the garlic in this recipe if you are not used to it

Shown in the picture is Dal fry served with Rice and Beetroot Palya

Beetroot Palya

Lot of people i know are not such big fans of beetroot, I think it is the color that puts them off. I like beetroot though, it is not my favorite vegetable but i can eat it once in a while. Well today we will be making beetroot palya. It is a very simple recipe to make and tastes good with chappati or rice. So here goes.




Ingredients
3 large beetroot(peeled and grated)
1 small onion chopped
3 green chillies slit in the center(add according to taste)
curry leaves a few
jeera 1 tsp
roasted peanut 3 tbsp






Take oil in a pan. Add jeera, curry leaves,chillies,onions and fry for a while. Fry for sometime till the onions turn brown. Now add the grated beetroot, salt and mix well. Let this cook for a while do not add water. Coarsly grind the peanuts and garnish on top of the beetroot. Enjoy!!!!

Sevai

It is one of those days I am really not sure what to make. Don't really feel like make rice/dal /rotis. So just thought will make some tiffen for dinner today. Once again at a loss what to make, was going through the things in my pantry and found a packet of rice vermicelli/Sevai my mom got, well so vermicelli/Sevai it is for dinner tonight. It is easy to make half your job is already done for you, the vermicelli is already made. In south India they make the vermicelli/Sevai from scratch which is a little time consuming but real delicious, it is worth all the effort.

Rice Vermicelli is readily available in any Indian stores. I got a 1lb pack and made 2 kinds of vermicelli for dinner. One is lemon and the other is coconut. You could cook the vermicelli whole and it will look like noodles when done. In this receipe I cut the vermicelli into about 2 inch pieces just because we prefer it that way. Cutting it before cooking makes it easier.



Method

Put all the vermicelli in a big Pan. Boil water seperately and add the boiling water to vermicelli, all of the vermicelli should be covered with the boiling water cover the pan for 5 minutes check to see if the noodles are cooked and then drain all the water.


In a pan take oil. Add mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal, hing, curry leaves and red chillies. When the dal turns brown switch off the heat and add 2 cups grated coconut(fresh or dry ) add salt and mix well add half the cooked noodles and mix. Coconut Sevai is done.

In a pan take oil. Add mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal, hing, curry leaves, grated ginger and green chillies. When dal turns brown add turmeric, mix well add the remaining noodles, salt and lemon juice and mix well. Lemon Sevai is ready.

These dishes taste good by themselves. If u need something to go with it can have it with sundal.

We really loved the taste of these noodles with garlic rasam. Accidently stumbled upon this combination. When I made this sevai at home I also felt like I am starting to get a cold so made garlic rasam and tried the sevai with it and it tastes amazing. Will post the recipe for garlic rasam soon. Till then Happy Cooking !!!!