Cabbage Chutney

Ingredients
1. Cabbage (1/2 medium sized cabbage)
2. Seeragam (1 tablespoon) or cumin seeds
3. Green chillies (2)
4. Red Capsicum or Red bell pepper - 1 number (Optional)
5. Oil - 3 tablespoons
6. Salt to taste
7. Tamarind - 1 small lump (the size of a small lime)

Method
1. Chop the cabbage into medium sized pieces. Slit the chillies.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
3. Wait for the seeds to splutter and then add the slit green chillies.
4. Once they whiten, add the capsicum pieces and saute for 5 minutes.
5. Add the cabbage and saute until the cabbage pieces become soft.
6. Take the pan off the stove and move the contents into a mixie jar.
7. Add salt and one small lump of tamarind and grind the contents.

Your chutney is now ready
Can be served with dosai, idly, roti.

Celery kootu with a Chetinadu twist

Ingredients

1. Celery stalks - 10

2. Masoor Dhal (Payatham Paruppu or Paasi Paruppu) - 1 cup

3. Grated coconut - 1 cup

4. Saunf or Sombu or Aniseed - 2 tablespoons

5. Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

6. Canola oil - 1 tablespoon

7. Salt to taste

8. Green chilli or Serano Pepper - 1

9. Turmeric Powder or Haldi or Manjal Thool - 1 teaspoon

10. Onion - one medium size

11. Tomato - one small (Optional)

Method

1. Cut the celery stalks into medium sized pieces (any shape is fine).

2. Wash the masoor dhal and add the turmeric powder to it.

3. Add the celery stalks to the dhal and add water so the entire contents are submerged in water.

4. Pressure cook the dhal and celery mixture for 2 whistles.

5. Grind the grated coconut with the Saunf and green chilli and make a smooth paste.

6. Cut the onions and tomatos into medium sized pieces.

7. Heat the pot and add oil and mustard seeds.

8. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and saute for a minute.

9. Add the cut onion pieces and satute until they turn pinkish brown.

10.Add the coconut paste and saute till the coconut softens (you do not have to saute for long if the coconut is fresh)

11. Now add the tomato pieces and stir occassionally till the mixture starts bubbling and the tomato pieces are cooked.

12. Now add the salt and the pressure cooked dhal and celery mixture.

13. Wait for the entire mixture to boil and turn the stove off.

Your kootu is ready to eat

Goes well with spicy eggplant curry

Beans Paruppu Usili

Ingredients

1. Channa Dhal - 1/2 cup (kadalai paruppu)
2. Thuvar Dhal - 1/2 cup (thuvaram paruppu)
3. Dried Red Chillies - 5 (kanja milagai)
4. Asfoetida - 1/2 tspoon (Perungayam)
5. French Beans - 1 lb
6. Gingely oil/Sesame oil/Canola oil - 6 tablespoons (Nalla Ennai)
7. Salt to taste
8. Mustard Seeds ( 2 teaspoons) (Kadugu)
9. Curry leaves ( 10 leaves) (Karivepalai)

Method

1. Soak the channa dhal and thuvar dhal in water for 3 hrs
2. Cut the beans into small pieces and steam it for 15 minutes or until it is cooked.
3. Grind the soaked dhals with the red chillies, asfoetida and salt into a smooth paste with as little water as possible
4. In a pan, heat some oil and after a minute add the mustard seeds.
5. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and saute for 1/2 a minute
6. Add the ground dhal paste and keep stirring it, without letting the dhal mixture stick to the bottom of the pan.
7. Keep stirring until the water evaporates and the raw smell from the dhal paste goes away. Depending on the pan, if you find the mixture too dry, add more oil. At this the time, the dhal mixture should look crumbly..with a ricotta cheese like texture.
8. Then add the steamed beans and salt to taste and saute for 5 more minutes and then take the pan off the stove.

The paruppu usili is ready to eat.
Best served with vathal kozhambu or mor kozhambu.

Green Gram Dhal Vadai

Ingredients

1. Green Gram Dhal - 2 cups
2. Ginger - The size of your index finger
3. Salt - To Taste
4. Green Chillies or Serano Peppers - 2
5. A Pinch of Asfoetida (Optional)
6.Oil to Fry - 2 cups (Either Canola oil or Sunflower oil)
7. Onions (1 medium sized) (Optional)

Method

1. Soak the green gram dhal in water for about a day or two till it starts sprouting.
2. Cut the onion into tiny pieces.
3. Drain the water and grind the green gram with the ginger, chillies, salt.
4. Add a pinch of asfoetida and the onion and mix well.
5. Heat the oil in a frying pan in medium flame for about 5 mins.
6. Test the oil by dropping a small bit of the ground Vadai mixture, the ball should come bubbling up.
7. Now grease a sheet or the palm of your hands and take a large table spoon of the mixture and make it into a flat circle, put a whole in the middle and drop it carefully into the frying pan and wait till the Vadai browns on both sides.
8. Strain the oil from the vadai and take it out of a frying pan.

Your vadais are ready to eat

Can be served with chutney and sambhar.