Garlic Podi, Poondu Podi

          A typical South Indian meal is incomplete without podi specially when combined with Ghee or sesame oil. There are various varieties of podi's used with breakfast and rice. It's always helpful when you are lazy to prepare curry or sambar. I love Garlic podi which we buy from Homefoods at my home town. I always think to prepare such kind of podi by my own. Here is the similar kind which i prepared.    

Ingredients :

Garlic - 1 Cup( More garlic more the flavor)                    Preparation Time : 15 Minutes

(You can even increase Garlic quantity as much as you want)

Toor Dal - 1/2 Cup

Fried Channa Dal - 1/2 Cup                                              Approx Quantity : 1 1/2 Cup

Red Chilly - 6-8

Curry Leaves - 2 Strands                                                  Best For : 2-3 Months

Asafoetida - 1/2 Tsp

Salt - 1 Tsp

Sesame Oil - 1 Tsp

Poondu Podi

Method :

Remove the skin and clean the Garlic. Chop it well.

Measure the toor dal and keep it in a separate bowl.

Measure the Fried channa dal and keep it in a separate bowl.

Heat a pan and dry roast the toor dal for 10 minutes until you get nice aroma.

Once you get nice aroma from the toor dal, add fried channa dal. Keep stirring until both turns nice golden color. Watch carefully so that it doesn't burn. Add Red chilly and curry leaf and fry together.
Add it in a large bowl.

Add 1 Tsp sesame oil to the same pan and add garlic, keep stirring it until it turns golden brown. Turn off the stove. Cool the garlic well. Finally add it to the dal left in the large bowl.

Let all the ingredients cool well before grinding. Add salt and asafoetida powder to it.

Make sure the mixer jar is well dry. Add it in the mixer jar and grind it to smooth powder. It may take sometime to blend it smooth. For Idly's you can grind to coarse powder and for rice you can grind to nice fine powder.

Once done, transfer it to a good air tight container. It is best for 2-3 months or for longer refrigerate it.

Serve with Hot idly's, Dosa or Rice. Add oil or Ghee to mix. Enjoy your breakfast.

Thank You. See you in next post.

Tomato Pickle

Ingredients :

Tomato - 1 Kg                                                               Preparation Time : 30 Min
Garlic - 3 pods
Red Chilly - 4

Tomato pickle

Mustard Seeds - 1 Tsp
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 Tsp
Curry Leaf
Turmeric - 1/2 Tsp
Salt - 1/4 cup
Asafoetida - 1/4 Tsp
Sesame Oil - 1/2 Cup or 200 ml







Method :

Clean and Chop the tomatoes into small pieces. Add it in a pressure cooker and cook it for 2 whistle.

                                

Once the pressure is gone open the lid. Again switch on the stove. Add the crushed garlic in the cooker. Add salt and turmeric powder. Cook the tomato until all the water evaporates completely.

                                

Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds,Curry leaf, Red chilly and Asafoetida. Add this oil mixture to the cooked tomatoes and stir it well.

                                

Tastes excellent with Rice and ghee. Store it a air tight container or refrigerate it for longer use.

Thank You. See you in next post.

Lime Pickle

          Lime pickle is one of  popular pickle of Tamil Nadu. Curd rice is the best combination with the lime pickle. 

Ingredient :

Lime or Lemon - 8                                                                            

Salt - 1/2 Cup

Chilly Powder - 1/4 cup

Garlic - 15 pods

Mustard seeds

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 Tsp

Sesame oil - 1/2 cup

Turmeric - 1/2 Tsp

Curry leaves - few

Hing(Asafoetida) - 1/2 Tsp

Lime Pickle

Method :

Wash the limes and pat it dry. Cut the lime into small pieces. Put the limes in a well dry bowl or a jar.

                               

 Add 1/2 cup salt to it. Mix the lime and salt well. Keep it under the sunlight for 4 days. So that the salt dissolved in the lime completely. Keep on shaking it 2-3 times daily.

                            

Salt will get dissolved completely, lets start to make pickle.

                                                

Take a large pan with 1/2 cup sesame oil. Once oil gets heated add mustard seeds, Fenugreek seeds & then add 1/2 Tsp Hing.

                             

Add Chilly powder and Turmeric Powder. Dont let it burn, immedietly add Garlic pods, curry leaves to it & fry for a while.

                             

Then add the limes in the pan & stir well. Reduce to low flame. Let the lime cook well.

                             

Once the lime gets cooked well you'll find oil floating out. Switch off the stove & let it cool down.

                            

Transfer it to sterilized jar or bottles. Hot & Sour Lime pickle is ready.

Tips :

This pickle can used up-to 6 months.

You can even add 1 Tbsp sugar to it.

Stir the pickle once in a week.

Thank You. See you in next post. 

Multigrain Porridge Flour (“Kanji Ettu”) SathuMaavu

                                                                                                            Total Preparation Time: 3- 4 Days                                           Ingredients:    
  

Wheat(Godhumai) - 1 Kg                                              Nutritional Benefits :

Pearl Millet( Kambhu) - 1/2 Kg                                          High in Protein, Fiber, Iron

Finger millet( Ragi) - 1/2 Kg                                               Low in Carbs.

Sorghum(Vellai Solam) - 1/2 Kg

Fried Gram - 1/4 Kg                                                      Calories per serving:

Cardamom - 25gm                                                             25 gm - 150 Cal

Sukku( Dried Ginger) - 25gm

Almond - 50gm

Cashew - 50gm

Pistachios - 50gm( optional)

Things needed:

Muslin cloth( Cotton cloth) – 4 (required size)

Rope – 4( For tying the bundle)

Large plates or drying sheets – 4
   

Step 1

Soaking time : ( Minimum 12 Hrs)

Soak the Wheat, Pearl millet, Finger millet, Sorghum  in water. All the 4 grains must be soaked  in 4 separate vessels.

Ex :( 8 am –  8 pm )or( 8 pm – 8am) Choose your best time.

Step 2

Sprouting time : (12 – 14 Hrs )

After 12 hrs , wash all the four grains well and drain the water completely. Take 4 diferent muslin cloths and place each grains in a individual muslin cloth and  bundle it tightly. Place the bundle in a dark place for 12-14 hrs. Sprouts will appear in the grains by morning. Size of the sprouts doesn't matter.

Step 3

 Drying time : (1- 2 Days)

Open the grain bundle and scatter it in 4 individual plates. Dry it well under good sunlight for  1-2 days, depends on the temperature. Plan accordingly in hot weather conditions.

Step 4

Roasting time: (30 min)

Take a huge pan and place it  in the stove at medium flame. Roast the grains one by one individually in the pan until you get fine roasting smell. Don’t roast it for a long time otherwise the color will start to change with burning smell.

            Roast the Almond, Cashew and Pista slightly. No need to roast dried ginger and cardamom.

Step 5

Flour process

Mix all the Grains, Fried gram, Roasted nuts, Dried ginger and Cardamom . Ground all the ingredients together into fine powder. Depends on the quantity you can grind in home or reach out to a flour mills nearby.

       Store the flour in dry containers. Method of cooking Porridge (Kanji) is shown in another post.

Tips: 

Step 1 and Step 2 can be completed in one day. I suggest morning hours to start the process.

Plan accordingly in hot weather conditions.

Size of the sprouts doesn't matter.

No need to roast dried ginger and cardamom.

You can use sprouting boxes other than cloth for sprouting.
It might look like a very difficult long process. But just takes 15-20 min daily.

Thank you. See you in another post.