IruPuli Kuzhambu

A recipe which I learnt from a neighbor some years back which she often use to do. I remember tasting it during my childhood days when my grandma used to make but never had a chance to get her version. As it tasted similar to my grandmom's version, I ensured I save this to my diary. Many of the authentic recipes I learnt from my neighbor aunty who is a skilled cook.Her Pongal Kuzhambu and Poricha Kuzhambu are my favourites.

This Irupuli Kuzhambu is made in different ways, a combination of two sour agents among Tamarind, Sour Curd and Mango. Any two will be combined to make this, as it has two souring agents it got this name. The Methi Seeds gives a unique aroma to this Kuzhambu. Its paired with Kali Kindina Dosa which is another favourite dish of mine, which also I happened to revive after going through the post of the cooking legend Chithra Viswanathan amma (Chitvish).

Goes well with Hot Rice and Spicy Potato Curry too :) 

Healthy Rice Mix - Pepper Cumin Powder and Kalathu Podi / Digestive Powder

In this post I am sharing some interesting and healthy rice mix recipe which is a traditional recipe of many of the South Indian Households. Hailing from a family of people who believed that through food and some herbal mixes all kind of ailments can be cured, this is something which is used in treating indigestion. My grandma who seeks these kind of medicinal household recipes for every other system disorders, taught me some of her recipes and more the importance of them. I have personally relished these and found cure at times when needed. It might be unbelievable for the people of this antacid gel age.

Pepper and Cumin have proven to have properties that aids in proper digestion and curing gastritis issues. These two spices are considered as super spices. Just a spoon of this powder with a spoon of melted ghee added to hot rice when consumed do give us relief from indigestion issues and also improves appetite.

Kalathu Podi or Digestive Powder is something that is usually given to the newly delivered moms, or lactating mothers to get relief from indigestion and gastritis. We also call it as Pathiya Podi as it is given a must during the first three to four weeks after delivery. It helps in proper digestion and also stops vomiting in babies when they feed on the milk of the mom when she faces digestive issues. These are some recipes which I treasure and it has been transferred by my grandmom to my mom and I want to have it saved as already we are forgetting all our traditional recipes by now..Thanks to the fast food culture. I will also post the special Pathiya Kuzhambu and Pathiya Rasam for the newly deliverer moms in my upcoming posts.

Not only new moms, but anyone can take this podi with rice to get relief from indigestion and gastritis.

Will be happy to receive your feed backs...Happy Cooking :) 

Ambalapuzha Paal Payasam

A recipe which I have been relishing over these 14 years, being married to a Mallu at Ambalapuzha Temple..an authentic recipe of Kerala and this is being offered as Neivedhyam to Lord Sree Krishna of Ambalapuzha temple and given as Prasadham to all the devotees.

The legend behind this prasadham is quite interesting and am happy to share this through this post..

Source : Wikipedia 

God Krishna once appeared in the form of a sage in the court of the king who ruled the region and challenged him for a game of chess (or chaturanga). The king being a chess enthusiast himself gladly accepted the invitation. The prize had to be decided before the game and the king asked the sage to choose his prize in case he won. The sage told the king that he had a very modest claim and being a man of few material needs, all he wished was a few grains of rice. The amount of rice itself shall be determined using the chess-board in the following manner. One grain of rice shall be placed in the first square, two grains in the second square, four in the third square, eight in the fourth square, sixteen in 5th square and so on. Every square will have double of its predecessor.

Upon hearing the demand, the king was unhappy since the sage requested only a few grains of rice instead of other riches from the kingdom which the king would have been happy to donate. He requested the sage to add other items to his prize but the sage declined.

So the game of chess started and needless to say the king lost the game. It was time to pay the sage his agreed-upon prize. As he started adding grains of rice to the chess board, the king soon realised the true nature of the sage's demands. By the 20th square, the number had reached one million grains of rice and by the 40th square, it became one million million. The royal granary soon ran out of grains of rice. The king realised that even if he provides all the rice in his kingdom and his adjacent kingdoms, he will never be able to fulfill the promised reward. The number of grains was increasing as a geometric progression and the total amount of rice required to fill a 64-squared chess board is ((2^64) - 1) which is equal to the number 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 translating to trillions of tons of rice.

Upon seeing the dilemma, the sage appeared to the king in his true-form, that of God Krishna. He told the King that he did not have to pay the debt immediately but could pay him over time. The king would serve paal-payasam (made of rice) in the temple freely to the pilgrims every day until the debt was paid off.

Here goes the simple yet a delicious recipe :) 

Green Peppercorn Spring Onion Kuzhambu

Green Peppercorns are the unripe berries of the tropical vine Pepper (Black Pepper which is the processed form of ripe berries). Green Pepper has an exotic pungent taste and flavor, besides which it offers a lot of health benefits. They aid in better digestion by increasing the level of HCL in our stomach. They help to destroy the bacterial growth in the intestinal tract. Also they have abundance of Iron, Vitamin K and above all it is a rich source of antioxidants. It also has active components that will burn out fat cells and thus aids in weight loss. It shows anti cancerous properties too.

We have the lushy Pepper Vines in our garden at my native and we get Pepper for the entire year from the four to five vines that we have. Got a chance to get some fresh green pepper corns when I visited my place two days back for Pongal Celebrations. Thought of trying this Kuzhambu which was long pending in my list. I made a twist by adding Spring Onions which really enhanced the taste and flavor. A must try recipe I would say. :)

Kendhata / Pongal Kuzhambu - Tanjore/Mayavaram Style - Pongal Special Recipes

Pongal is the traditional South Indian Harvest festival equivalent to Thanksgiving in Western Countries and it is celebrated elaborate and in a grand manner, for four days all over South India. It is celebrated on the First Day of the Tamil Month Thai (10th Month in Tamil Calendar). First day is celebrated as Bhogi where we dispose old worn out house hold materials and buy new ones. Second Day is the Perum Pongal or Soorya Pongal, during which people make Sweet Pongal and White Plain Pongal before Sun in new pots and offer it to Sun God as Sun being the major source of light for crop cultivation. We offer Sugarcane, Pongal and Banana on this day . Third Day is Celebrated as Maatu Pongal which is more for the Cattles and it is celebrated grand in village sides, even though people living in cities miss the chance of seeing such grand celebrations. Fouth Day is end of the Pongal Festival which is called Kaanum Pongal (Kaanum means Reunion), on which day people go and visit relatives houses and have some sort of get togerher in public places like Beach, Park etc.,
Pongal recipes include Sarkarai Pongal made out of New Rice with Milk, Jaggery and White Plain Pongal. Also we make Pongal Kuzhambu with all the veggies that are available during the season as a mark of offering the produce to the Sun God.

Here am sharing one authentic Pongal Kuzhambu Recipe which is a traditional recipe of Thanjavur/ Mayavaram, called as Kendhata. My Mom who hailed from Mayavaram is an expert in making this recipe and this is one recipe which I have always cherished as a child. It has the goodness and flavour of all country vegetables, lentils, tubers,..even they add Amla and Sugarcane Pieces. On Pongal Day night, they used to add water to the White Pongal and keep. The next day morning, they add in lot of fresh curds, chopped shallots and green chillies with salt as needed and prepare creamy curd rice. This Kuzhambu is reheated and made thick (we call it SundaKuzhambu) and served with the cold curd rice. Its heavenly to have this combo. Happy to share this traditional recipe for this Pongal. Thanks to mom for sharing me the recipe.

Happy and Prosperous Pongal to all :)

Aarudhra Darshan - Tiruvaadirai Kali and Thaalagam / 7 Kari Kootu

Aarudhra Darshan is a festival celebrating the ecstatic Cosmic Dance of Lord Shiva (Anandha Thaandavam) in Natarajar Form. It is observed every year during the Tamil month of Margazhi on Thiruvaadirai Nakshatram. Aarudhra signifies the Shiva's dance inside the golden red flame.

This Cosmic Dance of Shiva is a symbolic representation of the continuous cycle of life on this universe ie., Creation to Destruction. Its believed that this dance takes place in each and every particle of the universe which is also a scientifically proven part that Universe is made of particulate matter which in turn is the source of energy (Einstein's Particulate Theory). The scientists have also shown that the movement of an atom is in the form of this Cosmic Dance performed by Lord Shiva. Hence Thirumoolar has also mentioned
"Avanandri Oru Anuvum Asayadhu"

Lord Shiva's Dance Pose is a complete symbolization of the cycle of life...

The Hour Glass Drum in his upper right hand is the symbol of creation which represents the Male and Female Vital Principles..Two Triangles infused..
The Flames of Fire on the left upper hand symbolizes the Destruction as per Hindu Mythology the Universe will be engulfed at the end by Fire.
Hence the two hands are kept at a balance...always there is a balance between creation and destruction..
The Second right hand showing Abhaya Muthra which means protection..
The crossed left leg and the and lower left hand indicates release from the cycle of birth and death..
The hand points the uplifted foot symbolizes Lord Ganesha who is the remover of obstacles..
Dwarf on which the Shiva Dances signifies creation is possible only when weight of the darkness of the universe is overcome and suppressed.
The ring of fire indicates the field of universe in which the dance takes place..
The Lotus Pedestal at the base indicates the universe in consciousness of each person...

On this day, we offer a sweet made of Roasted Rice Flour and Jaggery, Thirvaadirai Kali..which is a part of Hindu tradition. Along with this, a gravy is made with 7 vegetables also called as 7 Kai / 7 Kari Kootu or Thalagam.

My mom makes a very delicious texture of Kali and from her I learnt this recipe...There's a saying about this in Tamil ""Thiruvaadiraiku Oru Vaai Kali" 

Here's the Recipe for both...

This Year Aarudhra Darshan falls on 26th December.. Happy Aarudhra Darshan :)

Kadigara Rasam

In my Rasam Series, this is yet another interesting recipe from my grandma and the name itself shows that..Isn't it ? As a child, I always loved to hear her cooking stories that she tells every day to make me sleep..She tells a lot of Rasam Varieties and this name when she says every time, I laugh like anything..and hence this remains evergreen in my mind... I never had that curiosity to ask her the reason behind this name...
Yes...Its Kadigara Rasam my Grandma calls it...

Not only it has unique name but it has unique taste too..Its nothing but the rice washed water that we call Kazhuneer which imparts a unique color and taste to this Rasam..

Try this one and you will definitely have a special liking for it :)

Mixed Veggies Kuruma Kuzhambu

This is one recipe which is my Mom's signature recipe I would say and for the flavor and aroma that will appetize everyone at home whenever she makes this...The best part is we get the nutritive value of all the veggies in a more tastier way..Goes well with hot rice and even Idly, Dosa, Chapathi and Pooris. And its the best recipe to make when you have one or two of all veggies where we always end up in Avial,Kootu or even Kadhamba Sambar.

Thanks to Mom for such a great recipe which is most liked by all at home..

Try it and you will sure enjoy it :) I personally love this as side dish for creamy curd rice :)

Spicy Onion Rasam / Vengaya Rasam

In my Rasam Series, its yet another authentic and flavourful Rasam which is very close to my heart as this being the first Rasam Variety that my grandma taught me. A recipe which can be made in a jiffy and its flavour will simply mesmerize..and its very appetizing too. It goes well with Hot Rice and Coconut Mango Thogayal.

Try out and you will agree with me..I am a great fan of this particular recipe..