Mutton-Spring Onions Soup - Natural Remedy For Flu!

Meat-Green Onions Soup:

Other Names: Goat's meat and Spring onions Soup. Iraichi-Vengaya thaal Soup.

Ingredients:

Meat with bones 1/4 kilo
Spring onions 1 large bunch
Red onions 1 medium sliced
Ginger 1" grated
Garlic 2 cloves minced (use 7-10 pods, if you like)
Soy sauce 1 tablespoon
White pepper powder 1-2 spoons
Oil few spoons.

Method:

Cook mutton till tender in a pressure cooker, set aside.

Heat oil in a wide vessel, add ginger-garlic and onions fry real good. Further add cooked meat along with its liquid.

Add enough salt, soy sauce, pepper powder. Allow this to boil well, finally add chopped spring onions and continue boiling briefly...maybe until the greens wilt.

Serve warm as a starter.

Keerai Poricha Kootu - Comfort In A Bowl!

Greens in Lentils and Coconut Based Curry:

Other Names: Greens Olan. Green leafy vegetables in Lentils and Coconut Based Curry.

When I was growing up, green leafy vegetables used to be a quintessential part of our daily diet! Upon hitting the age - teen, my food preferences centered around...with heavy dose of spice, restaurant delights, thick gravies, fiery hot meals, deep-fried junks and something always exotic in nature!!! Later, when I picked up cooking on my own, I gave least importance to my traditional daily food! Kept exploiting various ways of sabotaging the nutritious stuff! Was least guilty to mutilate a perfect recipe in the name of 'enriching'!

Anyhow, after a prolonged expedition in the wild...finally arrived at a plateau! Where I realized the importance of good cooking! Yep, this is an era of traditional food comeback! I am looking forward for more native vegetables and seafood! Checking out the old-fashioned recipes! Now-a-days, the fresh greens from the backyard/produce section gives an aura of health benefits and goodness written all over it! As they say,...'they always come back', so did I:)

Ingredients:

Amaranthus / Paruppu keerai 1 bunch
Moong dal cooked 1 cup
Grated coconut 1 tablespoon
Green chilies 3
Ginger 1" grated
Urad dal 2-4 teaspoons - roasted
Cumin seeds 1 spoon
Salt
Turmeric 1 pinch
Oil few spoons
Mustard seeds 1/4 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/4 spoon
Asafoetida 1 pinch
Curry leaves few.

Method:

Heat the oil in a wide wok, add the tempering spices and followed by greens and cooked lentils. Further add salt and turmeric, cover and cook.

Blend the roasted urid dal, cumin seeds, chilies, ginger and coconut together to fine paste.

Now add the same to the pot and continue cooking without lid, until it thickens.

Serve warm to go with your meals.

Yam Leaves Curry - Grandma's Recipe For Success!!!

Oxford News A severe tornado passed by my little town (Oxford, Mississippi). Since yesterday night...the weather has been pretty wild. Storm with 80 km speed, lightning, thunder and rain!

Today, as I heard the siren warning in the noon, I rushed to the basement (hurricane shelter) in my house. I stayed there trapped for more than 2-4 hours! First time, went nuts without power supply. Absolutely no way to connect with world, no phone, no net, can't open the garage, food and cooking is out of question...good that everything was back to normal by evening.

Later this evening...it was very depressing to discover that severe property damage in our neighborhood! Just about 500 feet away from my home (subdivision); the trees uprooted, electric posts toppled, pavements broke, lakes are overflowing and some houses are knocked down. Good that so far there is no life loss, just few accidents have been reported here and there. Though everything turned back to normal, it gave us a fright. This is the time, we value life.

Tornado Video

Tornado Damage Pictures
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Keerai Kuzhambu:

Ingredients:

Yam leaves 1 bunch
Thuvar dal cooked 4 cups
Tamarind milk 1 cup
Green chilies 3 slices
Onion 1 chopped
Garlic 7-9 cloves crushed
Tomato 1 diced
Salt
Turmeric 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon

Tempering Spices:

Thallippu Vadagam
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/4 spoon
Fenugreek seeds 4
Peppercorns 2
Dry red chilies 3
Urid dal 1 spoon
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
Curry leaves few
Sesame oil few spoons.

Method:

Saute the greens briefly and wet-grind the same, set aside.

In a wide wok, heat oil. Add chilies, garlic, onions and tomatoes. Fry real good, then followed by cooked lentils. Cover and cook for few minutes.

Then, add the greens puree to it. Further add salt, turmeric, chili powder and tamarind milk. Cook without lid, until oil separates.

In a separate pan, heat oil and temper the spices. Now run this seasoning over the gravy prepared.

Serve warm to go with steamed rice.

Beetroot Subzi - As Easy As A-B-C

Beetroot - Keerai Poriyal:

No matter how tired you come home, its worth straining another 10 minutes in the kitchen to have an instant gratification with food. If my fridge is packed with fresh produce, I usually plan ahead for a week's menu, the inspiration comes from my mind whizzing ideas of playing with ingredients and tweaking the recipes. I know exactly how to lighten up the regular food, just pair it up with greens that lift the humble spirit to new heights.

Ingredients:

Beets 3 along with greens
Salt
Turmeric 1 pinch
Chili powder
Mustard seeds 1/4 spoon
Sesame oil few spoons.

Method:

Peel and chop the beets. Clean the greens with extra care, maybe several times in the running water. Then chop them down. Set aside.

In a wide wok, heat oil. Add mustard seeds and wait till it pops.

Now add the beets, cover and cook briefly for 2-4 minutes. Add enough salt, turmeric, chili powder and greens....stir-fry over high heat for 5-7 minutes. Once oil separates, remove from heat.

Serve warm to go with your steamed rice or rotis.

Palak Pulao / Spinach Pilaf - Plating Up!

Pasalai Keerai Saadham:

Ingredients:

Spinach 1 bunch - cleaned
Garlic 5 cloves
Ginger 2"
Onion 1 small
Tomato 1 small
Green chilies 5-7
Salt

For Pilaf:

Rice 1 cup
Green chilies 3
Onion 1 small sliced
Ginger-garlic paste 1/2 spoon
Mint leaves 1 fistful
Tomato 1 chopped
Cloves 5
Cinnamon 1 stick
Cardamom 1 pod crushed
Bay leaf 1
Star anise 1
Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
Ghee/oil 1/4 cup.

Method:

In a wide pan, heat few spoons of ghee. Add chilies, ginger, garlic, onions and tomatoes. Fry for about 2 minutes. Then add greens, cover and cook till the leaves wilt. Add 1 cup of water and wet-grind the same. Set this puree aside.

In a wide crock pot, heat ghee. Add the whole spices, followed by chilies, onion, ginger-garlic paste, mint leaves and tomato. Fry for about a minute. Then add rice, wait till the oil coats to all the sides.

Add the spinach puree. If necessary add water. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the rice turn tender and fluffy.

Serve warm as a main dish.

Kale and Cheese Omelette - The Infinite Variable

Kale-Cheese Dinner Omelet:

So you know spinach omelet...and why not Kale? Isn't it a perfect choice to include some greens in your diet. Whenever I had to fix a bitter-tasting greens...I put some extra effort to make it quite appealing and palatable. The moment I saw this recipe on Kalyn's Kitchen, I knew that I am gonna try this recipe sooner or later. It was overwhelmingly pretty and tempting. I remembered how Mommy used to add an egg to Keerai Poriyal, when we were kids. A flash second of home-nostalgic feeling is enough for me to be in kitchen, next minute:) ...in another few minutes, turned these fresh greens into omelette. Well...I tweaked the original recipe a bit to suit my needs...it turned out fabulous, more than my expectations:) So, here you go...

Ingredients:(Serves Two)

Large eggs 4
Milk few teaspoons.
Kale 1 bunch
Salt
Jalapenos 1 sliced
Large Onion 1 sliced
Pepper powder - maybe a little
Grated cheese - as per your choice, 1 table spoon
Olive oil (preferably)few teaspoons.

Method:

Wash and clean the greens, set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet, add jalapenos, onions and kale...stir-fry briefly till the greens wilt and reduce. Once the moisture is gone, remove from heat.

Beat the eggs vigorously till foamy, add milk and stir-fried ingredients. Mix well.

Heat a skillet, smear oil and make an omlette. Cover and cook if necessary, flip them over and cook both the sides. Finally add grated cheese and remove from heat.

Serve warm.

Kale Vepudu / Kale-Nilakadalai Poriyal

Kale Vepudu:

Somehow, I missed publishing this recipe, until a friend of mine (Preetha) reminded me! As I was going on and on, how I could relate Kale with that of Murungai Keerai(Native Indian Greens)...I realized that my long lying pictures, in the draft, were kind of blurry. I don't find them usually in the market here. Finally when I had a chance, fixed this recipe again:) This makes a good combination with South Indian meals.

Ingredients:

Kale 1 bunch
Raw peanuts - toasted 1 cup
Dry red chilies 3
Garlic 5 with skin-on crushed
Salt
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Olive oil few spoons.

Method:

Clean the greens thoroughly, and chop them down.

Coarsely grind the peanuts and red chilies together. Set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet, add mustard and garlic. Followed by greens. Further add salt, cover and cook briefly.

Once the greens wilt, remove the lid and stir-fry over high heat. Once the moisture evaporates, add powdered nuts. Stir-fry for 2 minutes and remove from heat.

There you go...this is how I treat exotic greens with that of native spices, hehe:)

Palak Kadhi / Pasalai Keerai Mor Kuzhambu - As Healthy As It Looks!

Spinach in Yogurts Based Curry:

Other Names:Palak Mor Curry. Pasalai Keerai Mor Kuzhambu. Palak Kadhi. Spinach Mor Kuzhambu.

Ingredients:

Baby Spinach 1 large bowl full
Yogurts 4 cups
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
Oil few spoons.

Wet Grind these to a Thick Paste:

Pepper 1-2 spoons
Green chilies 5
Thoor dal 1 cup - soaked
Tomato 1
Ginger 3-4 inch size. peeled.
Garlic 4 -5 cloves

For Tempering:

Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/4 spoon
Urad dal 1/4 spoon
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
Dry red chilies 3
Curry leaves few
Oil few spoons
Oil for shallow frying.

Method:

Heat oil, in a wok, add wet ground paste to it. Fry them till the raw odor is gone.

Further add asafoetida, salt, turmeric and greens. Mix them well. Then add yogurts and bring it to boil.

In a separate pan, heat oil. Add mustard, cumin, asafoetida, red chilies, pepper and curry leaves. Fry for a while...till they pop and splutter. Run this seasoning over the gravy made above.

Serve warm along with plain steamed rice.

Paruppu Keerai Poriyal / Greens Subzi - Green Leafy Vegetables Stir-fry

Greens Thoran:

I am not sure, what kind of greens these are!!! Found them lying in International market, untouched by many! I confidently bagged them with care, and once again, Mom's recipe helped me to creative this delicacy!

Regarding wild/domesticated greens...wash them several times in running water and let the greens sit in water filled vessel for a while, this will facilitate the fine-sand to settle down. And if you are wondering 'why I am ranting so much about cleaning the greens?...Here is a shameful incident, when I was an amateur cook (not that I am a good one, now:) I simply rinsed the greens and went ahead with cooking, so ended up with disaster keerai poriyal, but unknowingly served them to my guests, no one said a word' everyone quietly finished their lunch! But when I tasted it, it was so horrible...felt so bad! From that incident onwards, am being very careful these days. And also, never buy greens during rainy season...it gives out a funky odor!

Note:

Hoooray, this is called 'Paruppu Keerai' in Tamil. Special Thanks goes to Sheena Babu for helping me out. I was kind of wondering...the leaves look so familiar but I couldn't recall the actual native name of this greens, at the time of posting! Thanks to blogging and my buddies, once again:)

Ingredients:

Greens - chopped along with tender stem to 1 inch size
Garlic 7 cloves chopped
Green chilies 3 chopped
Salt
Turmeric 1 pinch
Chana dal 2 spoons
Urad dal 2 spoon
Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/4 spoon
Peppercorns 2
Asafoetida 1 pinch
Oil few spoons
Grated coconut 2 spoons(I used dessicated one, here)

Method:

Wash and clean the greens several times to get rid of any sand particles. Hold them in a colander, till cooking.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the tempering spices, and wait till they turn reddish brown.

Now add greens, salt and turmeric...cover and cook briefly. Once the leaves wilt, remove the lid and stir-fry over high heat.

Garnish with grated coconuts, serve warm to go with South Indian meals.

Baby Bok Choy and Shrimps Stir-Fry - Chinese Style!

Baby Bok Choy and Shrimps Stir-Fry:

Ingredients:

Shrimps 2 cups
Baby Bok Choy 4
Large Onion 1 sliced
Sugar 1/2 spoon
Vinegar few spoons
Red chili flakes 1 spoon
Garlic cloves 10 chopped
Thick soy sauce
Olive oil few spoons.

Method:

In a wide skillet, heat oil. Add the garlic and onions and fry real good. Add sugar and vinegar, continue frying till they brown. Add shrimps and stir-fry briefly.

Now add the greens and soy sauce, stir-fry over high heat...add chili flakes too. Once the leaves wilt and the stem gets tender, its done.

Serve to go with sticky rice or jasmine rice or fried rice, noodles etc. Enjoy.

Watercress Greens Dhall

Ingredients:

Watercress Leaves 1 bowl - chopped
Green chilies 3-5
Pearl Onions 1 bowl(thinly sliced)
Garlic 6 chopped
Tomato 1 large chopped
Lentils(moong dal/thuvar dal)1 cup
Salt
Cumin seeds 1 spoon
Olive oil 2 spoons.

Method:

Cook lentils with water, salt and a spoon full of oil. Maybe in a pressure cooker, till 3 whistles.

In a wide vessel, heat oil. Add cumin and wait till it crackles.

Now add chilies, garlic and fry for a minute. Then add onions & tomatoes...saute for few more minutes.

Add greens and cooked lentils to this. Further add salt too. Cover and cook till they are done.

Serve warm in a soup bowl. Its also good to go with plain steamed rice.

Alu Saag / Potatoes in Rich Creamy Spinach Gravy - Instant Love With Green Food!

Aloo Paalak:(Restaurant Style)

Urulaikizhangu varuval - Pasalai Keerai Masiyal (North Indian Style), Alu Palak.

Ingredients:

For Alu

Potatoes 1 cup(boiled, peeled, cubed)
Coriander seeds 1/4 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/4 spoon
Garam masala 1/4 spoon
Salt
Turmeric 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Oil few spoons.

For Saag

Fresh spinach - cleaned 1 large bowl full
Green chilies 6-8
Onion 1 small
Ginger 2 inches chopped
Garlic 2 cloves chopped
Tomato 1 small
Salt
Oil few spoons
Fresh cream to garnish.

Method:

Stir-fry potatoes with all the above mentioned ingredients(Alu) and set aside.

Heat oil in a vessel, add all the above mentioned ingredients(Saag) except cream. Once the leaves wilt, puree them.

Now mix the both fried potatoes with greens puree, top them with fresh cream.

Serve to go with pulkah rotis or rice.

Spinach Smoothie / Healthy Greens and Fruits Juice

Spinach Smoothie:

Ingredients:

Baby Spinach - 1 bowl full
Green apple 1
Kiwi fruit 2
Banana 1 large
Yogurts 1/4 cup
Organic whole milk 2-3 cup
Brown Sugar to taste

Method:

Blend all the ingredients together and filter the same.

Serve chilled, very energetic to kick start the day.

Arai Keerai Kothu Paruppu / Amaranthus Greens Sambhar - Adopt Green Cooking!

Arai Keerai Sambhar:

Ingredients

Greens 1 bunch - cleaned
Green chilies 3 sliced
Garlic 4 crushed
Onion 1 large chopped
Tomato 1 large chopped
Chick peas/chana dal 1 cup
Thuvar dal 1 cup
Salt
Turmeric 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Sambhar powder 1 spoon
Tamarind paste 1/4 spoon

For Tempering:

Oil few spoon
Mustard seeds 1/4 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/4 spoon
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
Curry leaves few.

Method:

Cook thuvar dal(lentils) till tender and set aside.

Cook the chana dal, briefly...cooked, but not mushy. Set aside as well.

Heat oil, in a vessel. Add the tempering spices and wait till it sizzles. Then followed by chilies, garlic, onions and tomatoes. Cook over high heat...maybe till the raw odor leaves the pan.

Now, stir-in greens and two types of lentils to it. Further add salt, turmeric, chili and sambar powder to it. Once the greens are done, add tamarind paste and bring it to boil once...and remove from heat.

Serve to go with your lunch, either steamed rice or chappathis...it pairs well.