Podi

When it comes to podis, there is nothing to beat Kandipodi in Andhra cuisine which is called Parruppu podi in tamil. Also in the list are Karivepilai podi (Curry leaves podi), Thengai podi (Coconut podi), Pudina podi (Mint Leaves Podi) and Murungai keerai podi ( Drumstick Leaves podi).

In the South Indian hotels esp in Andhra we find these podis along with pachadis (gongura and avakai) on the table ready for our service. And in all andhra house hold no meal is complete without having hot rice with ghee mixed in podi. The recipe is known as "annamlo podi" (literally meaning powder in rice). Since we grew up in Hyderabad we are used to starting with dry type rice with podi and fried curries as the first dish in our lunch. It is easy to make children eat when there is podi at home. This can be preserved for 3 weeks or more once it is prepared.

Here, first in order of my favourites, I should tell about coconut podi which is the recipe taught by my husband's grandmother. Followed by the ones which i tried from a telugu cookery book written by a famous author. I would like to thank cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com posted by MRS.SRIVALLI for curry leaves podi in a different style - UNDER KARIVEPAKU-PODI-SPICED-CURRY-LEAF. I like my friends to follow the same as i enjoyed the taste

of that powder.

I)COCONUT PODI/THENGAI PODI

CHENA DAL 1 CUP

UDITH DAL 1/2 CUP

LG 2 PINCH

DRY CHILLIES 3

GRATED COCONUT 1 CUP (FROM HALF COCONUT)

SALT TO TASTE

IN HOT KADAI ROAST DALS AND CHILLIES. ROAST COCONUT TILL IT IS DRY.

COOL ADD LG AND SALT AND COARSELY POWDER IN MIXIE.

II)DRUMSTICK LEAVES/MURUNGAI-KEERAI PODI

MURUNGAI KEERAI PODI 2 TBLSP

SEASAME SEEDS 1/4 CUP

UDITH DAL 1/4 CUP

RED CHILLIES 15 TO 20

GARLIC (WITHOUT PEELING SKIN) 10 CLOVES

TAMARIND GOOSEBERY SIZE

SALT

METHOD:

CLEAN LEAVES, WIPE WITH CLOTH. DRY ON A DRY CLOTH. WHEN DRIED DRY ROAST TILL CRISP.

MAKE POWDER AND USE 2 TABLESPOON OF POWDER FOR PODI.

DRY ROAST UDITH DAL, SEASAME SEPERATELY. THEN IN LITTLE HOT OIL FRY CHILLIES.

COOL AND POWDER TOGETHER.

LAST ADD LEAVES POWDER,SALT TAMARIND AND GARLIC AND POWDER.

N O T E

WITH SLIGHT VARIATION YOU CAN MAKE CURRY LEAVES PODI AND ALSO MINT (PUDINA) PODI.

CURRY LEAVES PODI: USE CURRY LEAVES POWDER INSTEAD OF DRUSTICK LEAVES POWDER

LIKE ABOVE. OMIT SEASAME SEEDS. ADD CHENA DAL (1/4 CUP) ALONG WITH UDITH DAL.

MINT/PUDINA PODI: FOLLOW SAME PROCEDURE AND INGREDIENTS LIKE DRUMSTICK LEAVES

POWDER BUT OMIT SEASAME SEEDS AND GARLIC FOR THIS PODI.

TOMATO PULAO

This is a Andhra Style Tomato Pulao. Made with Tomato puree and coconut milk, the flavour of the rice is mild yet yummy!

RICE 1 CUP

TOMATO 3-4 med sized pureed (1 cup)

ONION 1 (Thinly Sliced)

GINGER GARLIC PASTE 1 TO 1 1/2 TSP

GREEN CHILLIES 6

PUDINA AND CORIANDER 1 bunch each

PEPPER 1 TSP

LAVANG/CLOVES 1 TSP

COCONUT MILK 1 Cup

RED CHILLI POWDER 1/2 TSP

GHEE/OIL

(THE MEASURE OF GHEE OR OIL SHD BE 1/10 OF QUANTITY OF RICE)

SALT

Preparation :
Soak rice for 10 min.
Blanch tomatoes, peel off skin and make puree.
To extract coconut milk, use fresh or frozen coconut .Blend in mixer and make a smooth

paste. Add warm water and strain for one glass milk.

Procedure:

Heat ghee/oil, add cloves and pepper. When they splutter add the thinly

sliced onions and saute. Then add slit green chillies and little salt and fry.

Add ginger garlic paste and saute. Add pudina and coriander paste, red chilli powder

tomato puree and coconut milk.

For 1 cup of rice 2 cups liquid is required.

Hence use 1 cup tomato puree and 1 cup coconut milk. Allow to boil, then add

rice, salt some mint leaves and mix and cook for 15 min till rice is done.

garnish with coriander leaves.

Note:

The proportion for one measure rice is two measure liquid. In that 1/2 will be tomato puree

and 1/2 will be coconut milk.

VENDAKAI/BENDI PARRUPPU USILI

I went to chennai for a short trip last week.

It always gives pleasure to vist our native place

that too when you come back after a stay in other

country.Though in Hyderabad which is my hometown,

it gives great happiness to meet relatives after

a gap of one year.Not to mention about the festive

feeling the moment you land in chennai and pass

through the streets where you come accross the

temples and the flower shops with the aroma of

malligai welcoming you. Being the month of

AADI, you can witness the subeeksham everywhere.

The season of Amman festival in Hyderabad (called

Ammawari Jatra) just finished,I had chance to

witness people making KOOZHU in front of temples

in chennai.

I met my sisters-in-law in chennai, and had opportunity

to exchange views about many traditional recipes and

the posts i made in my blog.They too were ready to

share the signature recipes of their in-law's and

the ones which my husband's grandmother used to make.

I like to post them in my blog.

Paruppu usili called ARAICHU KELARAL by Iyengars is

common.Usually the vegetables used to make the same

are French Beans,Cluster Beans and my mother used to

make with snake gourd too.The practise is, when the

quantity of vegetable is less which is not enough

to make a side dish as curry for a family consuming

1/2 kg, they resort to paruppu usili which increases

the quanity because we add dals for the making

with the less quantity of vegetable.This recipe also

finds place in the menu of all the functions where

food is served in pandhis.

But for a change I had this vendaikai/Bendi paruppu

usili in my sister-in-law's place which is prepared

in their Mylapore house.They are from Thiruvahindrapuram.

Ingredients

Vendaikai 1/2 kg

For usili-grind to coarse paste:

toor dal 1 cup

Red chillies 5

Lg little

salt

For tempering:

Mustard 1 tsp

Udith dal 1 tsp

chena dal 1 tsp

Red Chillies 2

Curry leaves

Soak dal in enough water.Clean and cut bendi. Heat oil add bendi and saute.

Add salt required for bendi and fry till done.When it is crispy remove and keep aside.

Grind soaked dal adding red chillies, salt and Lg to a coarse consistency.

Heat oil in pan and add tempering items and ground dal paste and saute.

when done and look almost fried add cooked bendi and mix well.Fry for a while and see that

the bendi peices dont stick to each other.The curry should look dry.

VAZAITHANDU/BANANASTEM PACHADI

INGREDIENTS

VAZAITHANDU 1

CURD 1 CUP

SALT

OIL 2 TSP

FOR PASTE:

MUSTARD 1/2 TSP

RED CHILLIES 2

SEASAME SEEDS/GINGELLY SEEDS 1 TSP

FOR TEMPERING:

MUSTARD 1/2 TSP

UDITH DAL 1 TSP

CHENA DAL 1 TSP

JEERA 1/2 TSP

RED CHILLy 1

CURRY LEAVES FEW

Take fresh and tender banana stem and cut into small pieces. Add salt to this and keep

aside.

Heat oil in a pan add tempering items except red chillies and curry leaves.

Squeeze the cut vazaithandu to remove water and add to the tempering and saute.

cover and cook. Add curry leaves and red chilles(Adding chillies late is to avoid

pachadi getting hot and to just give a good look for pachadi with red colour).

Remove when vazaithandu is done and cool.

Make paste of mustard, red chillies and seasame seeds using little water.

Beat curd and add the paste and mix well.Add cooked vazaithandu to this.

Add required salt and mix.

Garnish with cut coriander leaves and serve.

RAW MANGO AND COCONUT CHUTNEY/MAMIDIKAYA KOBBERA PACHADI/THENGA MANGA THUVAIAL

Mango season in Hyderabad is about to end. Leave alone the different types of

fruits and the thotapuri mangoes, the raw mangoes are used in different forms

here. Not to mention about the avakai, apart from that, it is used in many dishes

during the season-some among them are mango pappu,mango jam,and instant chutneys

with combination of other ingredients.One such chutney is mamidikai-kobbera chutney or

Thenga-manga thuvail.The preparation is combining ingredients in raw form including

turmeric which gives good taste and flavour.Only tempering is needed.

I was looking for an authentic recipe. I viewed this

in a local channel prepared by a famous chef.I like to share this with my friends.

INGREDIENTS

MANGO                                  1 CUP

COCONUT                              1/2 CUP

METHI SEEDS                      2 TSP

MUSTARD SEEDS               1/4 TSP

CURRY LEAVES                  few

L G/HING                              1/4 TSP

TAMAMRIND EXTRACT      2 TSP

TURMERIC                        1/2 TSP

GREEN CHILLIES             4 nos

OIL                                 2 1/2 TSP

METHOD

HEAT OIL IN A PAN ADD MUSTARD SEEDS, CURRY LEAVES. REMOVE AND

RESERVE 1/2 OF IT (FOR SEASONING) AND THEN ADD METHI SEEDS AND LG/HING.

PEEL AND GRATE MANGO. COMBINE GREEN CHILLIES, GRATED COCONUT, 

TURMERIC, THICK EXTRACT OF TAMARIND AND 1 TSP OF SALT. GRIND 

TO PASTE ALONG WITH FRIED METHI SEEDS,LG AND MUSTARD SEEDS,CURRY LEAVES.

MIX THE MUSTARD SEEDS AND CURRY LEAVES WHICH WAS RESERVED.

This tastes good when had with hot rice and ghee.

STEPWISE PICTURES ;

CRISPY BENDI FRY-ANDHRA STYLE

There is none who would say they dont like vendakai/lady's finger curry.

When it is done as a dry curry it tastes good. The more the tender the

vegetable is, it gives better taste.The recipe can be used even as a starter

and children will love to have it.

LADY'S FINGER 200 GMS

OIL FOR FRYING

ROAST AND POWDER

GROUND NUTS 1 TSP

RED CHILLIES 5 NOS

CORIANDER (DANIA SEEDS) 2 TSP

JEERA 1 TSP

CHENA DAL 2 TSP

DRY COCONUT POWDER 4 TSP

GARLIC 5 CLOVES

METHOD

CLEAN AND CUT LADY'S FINGER SLITTING INTO 4

HEAT OIL IN A PAN AND FRY BENDI WHILE OIL IS VERY HOT, FEW AT A TIME

TILL THEY TURN LIGHT BROWN.

FRY ALL THE PIECES, DRAIN AND KEEP IN A BOWL.

POAST THE INGREDIENTS GIVEN EXCEPT COCONUT POWDER.

FRY GARLIC SEPERATELY IN OIL.POWDER THE ROASTED INGREDIENTS

ADD COCONUT POWDER AND FRIED GARLIC LASTLY AND BLEND IN MIXIE.

SPRINKLE THIS POWDER ON BENDI IN THE BOWL AND SERVE.

DHONDAKAYA/TINDORA/IVY GOURD PICKLE

APART FROM THE PICKLES WHICH ARE STORED FOR A YEAR THERE ARE INSTANT PICKLES MADE WITH VEGETABLES.THANKS TO 'YUM BLOG' FOR POSTING MIXED VEGETABLE PICKLE WITH BOTH NORTH INDIAN AND SOUTH INDIAN PODIS.IN ANDHRA PACHADIS ARE USED THROUGH OUT THE YEAR.IT FORMS PART OF THE MENU.MOST POPULAR ONE IS GONGURA APART FROM KORIVI KARAM,USIRIKAI PACHADI,CHINTAKAI PACHADI,ALLAM PACHADI ETC.THEY ALSO MAKE THOKKU/THUVAIL FOR DAY TO DAY USE.THERE ARE MANY IN THIS CATAGORY. ONE AMONG THEM IS DONDAKAI. THIS CAN BE DONE INSTANTLY AND STAYS CRISP.

INGREDIENTS

DONDAKAI 2 CUPS
OIL 1/2 CUP
METHI POWDER 1 TSP
CHILLI POWDER 2 TSP OR TO TASTE
HALDI 1/4 TSP
LIME JUICE 6 TSP
MUSTARD POWDER 2 TSP
SALT 4TSP
FOR TEMPERING:
MUSTARD SEEDS 1 TSP
JEERA 1 TSP
RED CHILLIES 4
LG 1/4 TSP

METHOD
HEAT OIL ADD MUSTARD, JEERA, CHILLIES,LG AND KEEP THIS TEMPERING ASIDE.
IN A BOWL COMBINE PIECES OF DONDAKAI,SALT,HALDI, CHILLI POWDER,METHI POWDER ,MUSTARD POWDER, LIME JUICE.ADD THE TEMPERING WHEN IT HAS COOLED.