Some Tiffin Varieties

After posting some meal recipes on types of Kuzhambu, Rasam, curry, kootu, pachadi, payasam, thogayal, etc... I thought it is time for some tiffin varieties too and started this thread..

Some easy to make tiffin varieties for office goers like:

1.       Idly

2.       Sambhar Idly

3.       Dosai

4.       Uthappam

5.       Pongal

6.       Rava Upma

7.       Arisi Upma

8.       Upma Kozhukkattai

9.       Rava Idly

10.   Semiya Upma

11.   Bread Upma

12.   Bread Toast Sandwich

13.   Adai

14.   Rava Dosai

15.   Masal Dosai

Some more tiffin varieties like:

1.  Poori

2.  Chappathi / Phulka

Some light snacks like:

1.   Bonda
2.   Vegetable Bonda
3.   Bajji
4.   Samosa
5.   Spicy Panneer Starters, etc..

I will also try to post some recipes on the tiffin side dishes too that goes well with the tiffin items.

Lemon Rasam

Ingredients:

1.       Lemon: 1

2.       Toor Dal: 2 tbsp

3.       Salt

4.       Rasam Powder: 1 tbsp

5.       Asafoedita: a pinch

6.       Ghee: 1 tsp

7.       Green Chilly: Vertically slit -1 medium sized

8.       Curry leaves and coriander leaves

9.       Mustard: 1 tsp

10.   A pinch of turmeric powder

Preparation Procedure:

1.       Pressure cook the toor dal with turmeric powder pinch and water as required.

2.       Boil 200 ml water along with Rasam powder and salt and 2 or 3 curry leaves and a pinch of asafoedita and turmeric powder for 15 minutes until the raw smell of the powder vanishes.

3.       Mash the cooked toor dal and make it as a paste and add this to the rasam along with 200 ml more water.

4.       Allow it to boil till yellow layer is fully formed over.

5.       With ghee, season mustard, asafoedita and the vertically slit green chilly and add this to the rasam.

6.       Allow the rasam to cool and become warm for an hour and then add the lemon essence by squeezing the lemon filtering out the seeds. Care should be taken that the lemon should not be squeezed totally till the end , the rasam may taste sour then.

7.       Add little coriander and curry leaves and serve warm.

Chow Chow Thogayal

Ingredients:

1.       Chow Chow: 2

2.       Salt

3.       Asafoedita

4.       Orid dal: 2 tbsp

5.       Dry Red Chilly: 5

6.       Tamarind: size of a small gems / marble

7.       Oil: 2 tsp

8.       Water

Preparation Procedure:

1.       In a kadai, add oil, roast the orid dal, red chilly till orid dal turns light golden yellow colour. Keep this aside

2.       Now, light sauté the chow chow cut pieces with the remaining oil in the kadai separately.

3.       In a mixie, grind the roasted orid dal, red chilly along with tamarind, a pinch of asafoedita and salt.

4.       When the mixer ingredients turn as hoarse powder, add the chowchow pieces also and grind it as a thick mass by adding very little water.

Chow Chow thogayal is ready to serve

Paruppu Thogayal

This is very easy and simple to make. This thogayal goes well excellently with Jeera Milagu Rasam.

Ingredients:

1.       Toor Dal: 1 Cup (200 gms)

2.       Gram dal: 1 tsp

3.       Dry Red Chillies: 3

4.       Pepper: 1 tsp

5.       Salt

6.       Asafoedita

7.       Water

8.       Ghee: 1 tsp

Preparation Procedure:

1.       In a kadai, add a tsp of ghee and roast the toor dal, pepper and red chillies till the toor dal turns golden colour.

2.       Switch off the stove and allow the ingredients to cool for some time.

3.       Add the above ingredients to a mixie jar along with salt, a pinch of asafoedita.

4.       Grind it in the form of a thick mass by adding water very little by little.

Paruppu Thogayal is all ready.. J

Thiruvadhirai Kali

Wishing all the readers and their families a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2012!!

Let me start the New Year 2012 with a sweet dish for Lord Shiva.

Thiruvadhirai Kali is a speciality dish made by the Iyers on the day of Thiruvadhirai (Arudhra Darisanam) as Neivedhyam along with Ezhu curry kootu / Ezhu curry Kuzhambu to Lord Shiva.

Ingredients:

1.       Rice, Moong dal Flour : 1 cup

2.       Jaggery: 3/4^th cup to 1 cup depending on the sweetness of jaggery

3.       Grated Coconut: 4 tbsps

4.       Ghee: 3 to 4 tbsps

5.       Cashew nuts: 15

6.       Water: 2 cups

7.       Cardamom Powder: A pinch

Preparation Procedure:

Rice – Moong Dal flour:

1.       The rice moong dal ratio should be 90%:10%.

2.       In a dry heavy bottom kadai, dry roast the rice-moong dal mix in sim to light golden yellow colour and allow it to cool for some time.

3.       Then, grind this mix in a mixie in the form of a rava.

Kali preparation:

1.       In a dry kadai, take 2 cups of water and allow it to boil.

2.       Once the water starts boiling, add the rava like flour to water slowly with one hand while stirring the kadai on the other hand.

3.       Allow this to boil and become like a state of half cooked rice (it may take 10 mins approximately)

4.       Powder the jaggery

5.       In a separate vessel, add little water – say ¼ cup, boil it and add the powdered jaggery and when it dissolves, filter out the dirt from this jaggery paste and add the jaggery paste to the rice flour kadai and keep stirring.

6.       Add a tbsp of ghee in a small kadai and roast the cashews and before switching off the stove, add the grated coconut and fry a little for 1 minute and switch off.

7.       Add the roasted cashews – coconut to the jaggery-rice flour kadai and keep stirring at low flame for few mins and switch off the stove.

8.       Add 3 tbsps of ghee and a pinch of cardamom powder.

Delicious Thiruvathirai Kali is all ready for Neivedhyam

Pudina Thogayal

Ingredients:

1.       Fresh Pudina leaves: 1 cup full

2.       Dry Red Chillies: 6 (Medium sized) – I use Gundu vathal milagai

3.       Urad dal / orid dal: 2 tbsps

4.       Asafoedita: A pinch

5.       Tamarind: very small sized – say of the size of a Cadbury gems

6.       Salt

7.       Water: little

8.       Oil: 2 tsps

Preparation Procedure:

1.       In a small kadai, add 1 tsp oil and roast the orid dal, red chillies till the dal turns light golden colour. Keep this aside out of the kadai.

2.       In the same kadai, add 1 tsp oil again, heat it on sim and add the mint leaves and fry till it shrinks and reduces size. Immediately switch off the stove and transfer the contents to a mixie and allow it to cool for few minutes.

3.       Now grind the mint leaves alone first till it becomes tiny pieces for one or two whips.

4.       Now add the roasted dal, red chillies along with salt, asafoedita and tamarind bit and grind again adding water very little by little

5.       Note that the mixer ingredients should be like a thick ball. You should grind it like a firm mass by adding water very little by little. If the water goes little more also, it will become like a paste.

6.       Remove the contents out of the mixie and using your hand, make it like a shape of a dough / ball like and store it in a vessel and serve.

This can even be refrigerated and consumed for the next few days if you make it thick.

Serving Tip:

1.       Make rice in cooker allowing 3 or 4 whistles.

2.       Once the rice sets, take the required quantity of rice in a big mouth bowl.

3.       Add 2 tsps of Gingely oil and ½ tsp of ghee to the hot rice in the bowl.

4.       Allow the rice to cool for 2 to 3 mins.

5.       Now with a flat ladle, spread the rice and add the pudina thogayal and mix it..note that the rice and thogayal needs to be mixed and not mashed..

Karuveppilai Thogayal

Ingredients:

1.       Fresh Curry leaves: 1 cup full

2.       Dry Red Chillies: 6 (Medium sized) – I use Gundu vathal milagai

3.       Urad dal / orid dal: 2 tbsps

4.       Asafoedita: A pinch

5.       Tamarind: very small sized – say of the size of a Cadbury gems

6.       Salt

7.       Water: little

8.       Oil: 2 tsps

Preparation Procedure:

1.       In a small kadai, add 1 tsp oil and roast the orid dal, red chillies till the dal turns light golden colour. Keep this aside out of the kadai.

2.       In the same kadai, add 1 tsp oil again, heat it on sim and add the curry leaves and fry till it turns light crispier. Immediately switch off the stove and transfer the contents to a mixie and allow it to cool for few minutes.

3.       Now grind the curry leaves alone first till it becomes tiny pieces for one or two whips.

4.       Now add the roasted dal, red chillies along with salt, asafoedita and tamarind bit and grind again adding water very little by little

5.       Note that the mixer ingredients should be like a thick ball. You should grind it like a firm mass by adding water very little by little. If the water goes little more also, it will become like a paste.

6.       Remove the contents out of the mixie and using your hand, make it like a shape of a dough / ball like and store it in a vessel and serve.

This can even be refrigerated and consumed for the next few days if you make it thick.

Excellent tastier Curry leaf thogayal is ready..

Serving Tip:

1.       Make rice in cooker allowing 3 or 4 whistles.

2.       Once the rice sets, take the required quantity of rice in a big mouth bowl.

3.       Add 2 tsps of Gingely oil and ½ tsp of ghee to the hot rice in the bowl.

4.       Allow the rice to cool for 2 to 3 mins.

5.       Now with a flat ladle, spread the rice and add the Karuveppilai thogayal and mix it..note that the rice and thogayal needs to be mixed and not mashed..

Kothamalli Thogayal / Coriander Thogayal

This is a very excellent accompaniment for Curd rice and also can be mixed with rice and taken as ‘Kothamalli Sadham’. What more, mix it with curd and use it as a raitha as well J

Ingredients:

1.       Coriander leaves: 1 cup full

2.       Dry Red Chillies: 5 (Medium sized) – I use Gundu vathal milagai

3.       Urad dal / orid dal: 2 tbsps

4.       Asafoedita: A pinch

5.       Tamarind: very small sized – say of the size of a Cadbury gems

6.       Salt

7.       Water: little

8.       Oil: 1 tsp

Preparation Procedure:

1.       In a small kadai, add 1 tsp oil and roast the orid dal, red chillies till the dal turns light golden colour. Switch off the stove

2.       Allow the above roasted minutes to cool for few minutes. Ensure that the orid dal does not turn brown while it remains in the kadai since the heat will remain in the kadai for few minutes. I usually transfer it to another vessel / mixie to allow the mix to cool.

3.       Add salt, asafoedita and the little bit of tamarind to the mixie along with the ingredients and grind them for a minute initially without adding water.

4.       Now add the coriander leaves and grind it fine by adding very little water.

5.       Now, keep on sprinkling water –( not pouring water) now and then and make the mixer ingredients as a thick ball. Note this should neither be powdery nor be a paste like. You should grind it like a firm mass by adding water very little by little. If the water goes little more also, it will become like a paste.

6.       Remove the contents out of the mixie and using your hand, make it like a shape of a dough / ball like and store it in a vessel and serve.

This can even be refrigerated and consumed for the next day if you make it thick.

Kothamalli Sadham Serving Tip:

1.       Make rice in cooker allowing 3 or 4 whistles.

2.       Once the rice sets, take the required quantity of rice in a big mouth bowl.

3.       Add 2 tsps of Gingely oil and ½ tsp of ghee to the hot rice in the bowl.

4.       Allow the rice to cool for 2 to 3 mins.

5.       Now with a flat ladle, spread the rice and add the kothamalli thogayal and mix it..note that the rice and kothamalli needs to be mixed and not mashed..

Thaengai Thogayal / Coconut Thogayal

This is a very popular Thogayal which is very well known for its taste and very simple to make. Especially when you spend a week full time with menus like Sambhar, Rasam, etc etc, this gives a great change to the menu.

1.       This can be mixed with rice and gingely oil and consumed. This tastes heavenly, believe me!

2.       Can be used as a side dish for curd rice.

3.       Can be used as a side dish for idly, dosai, upma, even chappathis..by adding little water to the thogayal

4.       Can be mixed with a little curd and you can even consume this as a pachadi/raitha J

Ingredients:

1.       Grated Coconut: ½ the coconut – i.e. 1 half coconut shell fully

2.       Dry Red Chillies: 6 (Medium sized) – I use Gundu vathal milagai

3.       Urad dal / orid dal: 3 tbsps

4.       Asafoedita: A pinch

5.       Tamarind: very small sized – say of the size of a Cadbury gems

6.       Salt

7.       Water: little

8.       Oil: 1 tsp

Preparation Procedure:

1.       In a small kadai, add 1 tsp oil and roast the orid dal, red chillies till the dal turns light golden colour. Switch off the stove

2.       Allow the above roasted minutes to cool for few minutes. Ensure that the orid dal does not turn brown while it remains in the kadai since the heat will remain in the kadai for few minutes. I usually transfer it to another vessel / mixie to allow the mix to cool.

3.       Add salt, asafoedita and the little bit of tamarind to the mixie along with the ingredients and grind them for a minute initially without adding water.

4.       Now add the grated coconut and grind them without adding water initially.

5.       Now, keep on sprinkling water –( not pouring water) now and then and make the mixer ingredients as a thick ball. Note this should neither be powdery nor be a paste like. You should grind it like a firm mass by adding water very little by little. If the water goes little more also, it will become like a paste.

6.       Remove the contents out of the mixie and using your hand, make it like a shape of a dough / ball like and store it in a vessel and serve.

This can even be refrigerated and consumed for the next day if you make it thick.

Thogayal Varieties

Some Varities of Thogayal include:

1. Thaengai Thogayal
2. Kothamalli Thogayal
3. Karuveppilai Thogayal
4. Kathirikkai Thogayal
5. Chow Chow Thogayal
6. Pudina Thogayal
7. Paruppu Thogayal