Popula pette (Tadka box)

I wanted to start a new feature called kitchen items. So that I can share all the gadgets and items from my kitchen with you all. I will happy to share other people pics if I can get some.  

This is my popula pette at my home. It consists of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, chilli powder, chana dal, urad dal and red chillies. when my in-laws or parents come over, they replace the red chillies with coriander powder.

Onion Tomato Yogurt Chutney - Perugu pachadi

This is a very famous raita from my side to accompany with any kind of rice item mostly either biryani's or fried rice items. Simple to make and jhatpat flavor.

Ingredients
Onions - 1 small - finely chopped
Tomatos - 2 small or 1 large finely chopped
Yogurt - 2-3 cups
Cilantro - Finely chopped
Curry leaves - a few for tadka
Oil - 1 table spoon
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
Asafoetida - 1/2 tea spoon
Green chillies - finely chopped (depends on flavor)
Urad dal - 1/2 table spoon (this adds the crunchyness in between)


Method of preparation
1) Mix Onions, tomatos, green chillies cilantro (coriander) in a serving bowl. Now add salt to it and mix it with hand.
2) Prepare tadka by taking a small tadka kadai and add oil to it. After oil is heated, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add asafoetida, green chillies urad dal and curry leaves to the oil. turn off stove when the urad dal is slightly golden but do not wait until they turn black.

3) Add yogurt and mix properly. Add  prepared tadka to the yogurt mixture and your raita is ready to serve.

Upma

Well this is a famous south Indian snack/tiffin whatever you can call it. Easy, fast, yummy and lots of compliments have been received by this simple recipe. This can be altered to your desire by adding vegetables, or without or add ginger or without or add cashews. Whatever way you like. It will transform itself accordingly. Yesterday I made it with sooji and the real simple upma. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
Sooji - 1 and 1/2 cup
Water - (boiled when adding to the mix) - 5 cups - Can add more to get the desired consistency - thick or thin way
Salt - 1 and 1/2 tea soon
Oil - 3 table spoons
mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
Asafoetida - 1/2 tea spoon
chana dal - 2 tea spoons
Ginger paste - 1 tea spoon
Green chillies - finely chopped (add it according to your taste, I added 3 non-spicy ones).
Red Chillies - optional
Onions (optional ) - 1/2 chopped finely
Curry leaves - a few
Lemon juice - 3 table spoons (can add more if desired)

Method of Preparation
1) Put the water to boil on another stove while we start the process of upma.
2) On another one take a pan/kadai and add oil to it. Once it is hot add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
3) Now add Chana dal, asafoetida, curry leaves and few cashews (optional).

4) Once the above mixture is fried, add onions to it and let it turn translucent. Then add the sooji to it and fry it until nice aroma comes out or until sooji is slightly turning pink.

5) Now add boiled water from another stove slowly and keep mixing so that the sooji does not form lumps.
6) Add salt either to the boiling water or you can add now and mix it thoroughly.
7) After you turn off the stove you can add the lemon juice to it.

This recipe goes well by all alone or with any kind of chutney you like or with pesarattu also. Enjoy !!!

Ginger Yogurt (Allam Perugu) chutney

The other day when we were at my cousin's place, she prepared this chutney, which goes well with either utappam or with paratha's also. It was quick to make, good for your tummy and yummy to eat. So here goes the recipe from her:

Ingredients
Ginger - small piece (grate it or smash it in mortar)
Yogurt - desired quantity (probably 1 cup)
Salt to taste - (1/2 tea spoon)
Lemon juice - 1/2 tea spoon

Method of preparation
Mix all the ingredients well and serve it cool with either hot utappam or paratha.

Happy Pongal (2010) and Happy New Year 2010

Gummadikaya Barada

This is very famous recipe from my village. Easy to make, healthy and also it is supposed to increase the math brain of ours. Almost every household in our village has either an engineer or doctor from each home. Part of the reason they mention is because of the food we eat like Gummadikaya barada and Bhendi fry. So here goes one of the traditional recipes:

Ingredients
Gummadikaya (Winter melon) - 1 piece.
Chana dal - 1/2 cup
Moong dal - a fistful (or more depending on your taste)
Cumin seeds (Jeera, Jeelakarra)
Oil
Mustard seeds
Asafoetida
Green chillies
Red chillies
Red chilli powder
Salt to taste
lemon juice or citric acid (if you are planning to use the citric acid them use less salt)

Method of preparation
1) Scrape off the chilka/pottu of gummadikaya (winter melon) and chop it into big pieces.

2) Prepare the gravy by grinding the dals(chana dal, moong dal) along with Jeera (cumin seeds, jeelakarra), asafoetida. Grind them coarsely and not too soft or powder type.  You can also soak a fistful of chana dal in water for sometime (like 15-20 minutes) to add to curry.

3) Now add red chilli powder, salt required for the curry to the above powder and mix them. Add sufficient Oil to it so that it looks like the following photo: The mixture should resemble like a paste.

4) Now take a kadai and add oil to it. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Now add asafoetida, jeera and green chillies to it.

5) Add the winter melon chopped pieces and also the soaked chana dal. Add turmeric to it and cover and cook for two minutes. Winter melon here (USA) cooks very fast, so be mindful of the time you are cooking it. Keep it for less than two minutes. If you are attempting this curry in other places (like India), then cover and cook for sometime until the winter melon pieces are half cooked.

6) Now add the dals mixture we prepared. Add 2-3 cups of water (add more until the dals are totally soaked). Cover and cook for 5 -10 minutes, by stirring in between. If the gravy is becoming very thick, then add some water again. keep it on stove till the dals mixture is cooked properly. Oil will float on top once the dals and melon are cooked. Adjust the salt (or citric acid) and chilli powders if required. Switch off the stove and take it in a serving bowl. Add tadka on top of the curry with Oil, mustard seeds and red chillies.

The best combination of this curry is to have it with Rice, mudda pappu and challa pulusu. You can eat the curry just with rice and it will taste good.
Note:
1) If you like the tangy taste then I would recommend adding less salt and add citric acid. This will give a special taste to the curry.
2) You can do the same curry with Dosakaya (Indian cucumber-yellow) by replacing the winter melon with dosakaya in the above curry recipe.

Let me know how the recipe turns out. Also please let me know if I am missing something.