Kollu Paruppu | Horse gram Kadaiyal

Kollu kadaiyal is one of my favorite lentils. This is Kongu cuisine. Weekly once Kollu (horse gram) or paasi payir (green gram) is must in my home from my childhood. So mostly on Friday we prepare this. Not only in my home also in many of my friends home. Kollu is very good for people who are trying to reduce weight. There is a saying in Tamil, “Elachavanuku Ellu, Koluthavanuku Kollu” – sesame seeds for thin person to gain weight and horse gram for Fat person to lose weight. If you don’t like to use plain Kollu then you can make powder and keep. Use a tsp of Kollu powder in all your curries and gravies. It won’t change the taste of your gravy. Kollu helps to maintain body temperature as well.

Let see how to make this healthy and tasty lentil.

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer Butter Masala, a bright orange-colored smooth, creamy and light buttery flavored North Indian dish, is one of the most popular main course food items in Indian restaurants. This is the first north Indian dish I learnt few years ago. Today I prepared this for my family friends who are visiting my home. As they are coming first time here after my marriage, I wanted to surprise them. So I have prepared French fries, our family’s all-time favorite tomato soup, roti and Panner Butter Masala. I am presenting here one among them.

Let’s see how make this creamy panner butter masala.

Pudhina Biriyani | Mint Rice

This flavorful and color biriyani is my favourite one pot meal and I had this first time in my PG. I love the potato in this very much. Adding potato is optional. But it tastes very good. Give a try once. This biriyani tastes good with normal raitha or simple potato chips. Every Sunday lunch was only this in my PG. My friends and I love it very much.  We used to have with chips as the raitha wouldn’t be good.

Let us see how to prepare this yummy biriyani.

Senaikizhangu porial | Elephant Foot Yam fry

Elephant Yam is Senai Kizhangu in Tamil, Kanda gaddha in Telugu, Chenath-thanda/chand in Malayalam and Suvarna gadde in Hindi. Before going to the preparation method, let us see some of the health benefits of this veggie. Yam is used as a slimming food as it is a low-fat food and lowers the cholesterol level and promotes in weight loss. It is rich in magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium and many trace metals. These metals are responsible for sharp memory and concentration power. It also contains carbohydrates and protein equivalent to potatoes. It provides you instant energy. Its regular consumption keeps you fit and healthy. Yam lowers the Insulin level thus aiding in blood sugar. Its adequate consumption lowers the diabetes.

First time I tried to prepare this porial. It came out really well and we liked it very much. Let us see the how to prepare this porial

Kaara pori

After getting ready to office, got mail as holiday due to heavy rain in Chennai. So I am into my blog today with this simple kaara pori. I would like to enjoy rain with Kaara pori and tea from childhood. This is my Appa’s favorite. So my mom always prepare this. Pori is very light and so you would not feel heavy. You can have as much as you want. As garlic gives nice flavor to this, don’t miss to add.

Let’s see how to make this kara kara Kaara pori.

Vazhaithandu Kootu | Gravy with Plantain stem and moong dal

This delicious kootu with Vazhaithandu or Plantain stem is one of my favorite. Whenever I buy banana stem, I rather make poriyal than this kootu. But love this kootu a lot because of the excellent taste.  Learnt this kootu from my mom. Dal we use here is moong dal. The aroma and taste of moong dal with plantain stem is yummy. As we use moong dal, this is good for you tummy as well. This is a no grind and a healthy recipe which is very simple to cook.

Let’s see how to make this yummy kootu with Plantain stem and moong dal.

Puli Aval | Poha with tamarind

Poha or Aval is is very easy to cook and can be done in any time. Today I felt like to have tamarind rice. But I wanted to try something different. Then I remembered my mom’s special poha with tamarind. This tangy aval is my favorite. But she rarely prepares poha when I was small. I was not much interested to eat poha. When I was in PG, poha was the only dish they prepare good. That is how started showing interest in cooking and eating poha.

Let’s see how to make this poha with tamarind.