South Indian Style Coriander Rice Recipe | Step by Step Pictures

            Coriander rice a simple rice recipe that can be made very quick. This is a south Indian style recipe which is different from a Mexican cilantro rice. Have some leftover rice? Yes !! I never want to waste my food.I feel very bad if I am throwing something. You can make fresh white rice there is no harm in that too. When talking about the taste,We got mesmerized really and loved the simplicity. Even bachelors can make an attempt on this simple meal.

Pongal Kuzhambu | Chettinad Style Mixed Vegetable Kulambhu | Step By Step Picture Recipe

     Pongal kuzhambu - a spicy, tangy mixed vegetable curry prepared during the harvest festival of Tamilnadu.Curry  is made with the freshest vegetables available that season.Those veggies make the gravy so delicious.

Rava Pongal Recipe | South Indian Breakfast | Pongal Recipe

        Rava pongal one of the easiest pongal made with sooji /semolina or cream of wheat.I love sooji because of the fact it can be used varied in dessert,upma,idli,dosa,kichadi,kesari,pooridge etc. Yes !! When you want an instant sweet or breakfast you can count that in.

Parangikai Puli Kuzhambu | Pongal Recipes | Kuzhambhu Recipes

    Pumpkin aka parangikkai is a vegetable famous in Tamilnadu during the pongal festival season and is harvested during this time.A small piece of pumpkin like 1/2 kg gives around 20 pieces can serve around 4-5 members.

Cabbage Vada Recipe | Vada Recipe | Urad Dal Vada | South Indian Snack

     Cabbage vada - a south Indian medu vada made with whole white urad dal and cabbage leaves as the main ingredient.Adding of cabbage made the vada crispy and taste different than usual.The hole made in the center resembles a doughnut shape but is more healthy than the sugary holed sucessor.
   

Hotel Sambar Recipe | Tiffin Sambar

       Sambar a traditional south Indian dish served with idli,dosa,pongal,vadai for breakfast. Sambar is nothing but a soup prepared with pressure cooked and mashed dal, with or without vegetables along with onions,tomato and masala powder.This soup can vary in spice from freshly ground masala paste,specially ground masala powder, sambar powder or only with green chilies.This recipe is with fresh ground masala powder ,its thick and is tasty when you eat it along with idli,dosa and a drizzle of gingelly oil on top of them ..hmm

Ven Pongal | Oats Pongal

      Ven pongal is a south Indian style kichdi made with rice,dal and tempering.Oats is a healthy grain, good for diabetic and heart patience.Reduces the cholesterol level and gives a constant energy through out the day.(its' true, my experience).Oats ven pongal makes a best morning breakfast or brunch ,its quick and very filling too.

Pongal Celebration|USA

 To me Pongal is the best festival celebrated by us. Its the harvest festival celebrated on the first day of the Tamil month Thai.Thai pongal is celebrated as a four day festival.

Sakkarai Pongal|Sweet Pongal

      Sakkarai pongal|sweet pongal is a rice made with jaggery.Its special in south india ,every household has tradition of making sakkarai pongal for special occasions.Specially sakkarai pongal takes the major place in pongal festival(a harvest festival) which occurs in tamil month thai, falls around January15 th every year.
    Brahmins do this sweet pongal with more ghee and milk its called akkara vadisal.I am hardcore fan of it,really makes any one mouth waters.hmmmmm
     Like any other recipe this sakkarai pongal also has many variations.My mom makes this style of pongal ,my mother -in law add some moong dal to the sweet pongal.If you are adding moong dal to the sakkarai pongal it has to pressure cooked along with rice.For 1 cup rice you can add 1/2 cup moong dal.

Variations to the sakkarai pongal:

1. Add moong dal/pasipayaru to add some protein.
2. You can add coconut flakes instead of grated coconut .
3. Increase the jaggery to make sakkarai pongal more sweeter.
4. Add more ghee and to make it more rich.
5. Add milk to make it more creamier.
6. Obviously you can substitute rice with any millets.

Palakai Kootu Curry-Chettinad Style(Step By Step Pics)

        Palakai kootu curry is yet another chettinad speciality.Me and my husband are very fond of this type of curry (Our grandma's make this curry yummier ).Here in US its very rare to get raw/tender jack fruit .I saw some in Indian store ,without any second thought i got raw jackfruit.
       When i asked my mom about it .She told there are varieties of raw jack fruit like fruity(which has more seeds) and raw one which don't have many seeds.I really was upset because i already got one which has more seeds.Its really hard to clean the seeds out ,But after i make this kootu we really enjoyed it a lot with Tomato rasam.
     This Jackfruit Recipe is mild and goes very well with rice.

Cleaning Time:15 min(if there is more seeds)
Preparation time:10 min

Cooking time:10 min

Tamarind Rice(Step By Step Pics)

       Tamarind Rice/Puliyotharai/Puli Sadam is an easy variety rice dish made with tamarind pulp or tamarind paste. My mom uses tamarind paste. The aroma of the dish is fresh and good if the paste is made fresh.
       Tamarind rice is very famous in South India especially in vaishnava temples where it is a standard prasad offered to god.
      In India its common to prepare this puliyotharai mix and store it in the refrigerator .When in need, cook some rice and mix with puliyotharai paste. The puliyodharai paste keeps well so you will see a lot of students bringing this from their homes.
      I added black tamarind (tamarind turns black when it ages) that's why tamarind rice is black even though i added enough turmeric.When you add lighter colour tamarind (which is not so black) tamarind rice will be yellow in colour.
   
Papads or simple potato curry is good for this Puliyotharai rice.
Some other easy rice varieties

1. Mushroom fried rice
2. Peas pulao/rice(no coconut)
3. Lime rice
4. Coconut rice 

Cooking Time:20 min
Serves:4

Curd Rice/Thayir Sadam

      "Rice" being a staple south Indian Food, we need variety of rice dishes .Variety varies from delicious  "biriyani" to simple "tomato rice" .Curd rice is the easiest of all rice varieties.Some people even think ,why  are you giving the recipe for this rice ?Some times easy recipe gets faulty and the day got ruined because of not getting the simple  "Yogurt" rice .The trick is you have cook the rice mushy and cool it down before you add curd to it .If the curd is too tangy you can add little milk to get right taste.
 Some common names of this rice "mosaru anna" or "bhagala bath" in Kannada,"Yogurt rice "in telugu .Its commonly called as "thathi Annam" in Tamil Brahmin's community.

Some more rice varieties for you to devour:

1. Channa rice
2. Mushroom Biriyani
3. Coconut rice
4. Mint Pulov
5. Lime rice
6. Vegetable pulov
7. Vegetable biriyani

Cooking time:15 +5 min
Serves:1-2

KondakadalaiSadam/KalaChanaChawal/BlackchannaRice

           Black chana(black chickpea/kondakadalai/kalachana) has more nutritional value than white chana its very good for your eye health( my grandmas word).I do chana kulambhu ,gravy for roti etc.One day i just don't want to do my regular recipes ,was searching for recipes and found the perfect recipe of chana rice in priyakas blog .Believe me in a span of 3-4 weeks i did this rice almost 3-4 times and we all love it a lot .Its just perfect for tiffin box- a filling nutritious meal for your loved ones in their boxes .When you sprout the channa then you get the whole grain value too.So protein,fibre,vitamin ,wholegrain,carbohydrate in one meal ...So good .With some yogurt,karasev,papad you are ready for lunch .let see how i did the rice.

Interested in quick rice recipes ? check
Mushroom fried rice
Peas pulao
Low calorie mushroom biriyani

Preparation time :20 min(for cooking the rice and chana)
Cooking time:10 min
Serves:2

Peas Pulao | Matar Pulao | Easy Lunch Recipe

     Peas pulao - a simple one pot meal made with peas. This rice is very mild even your kids will like it for sure.Are you bored of always making biryani on a weekend? I was bored of biriyani and was craving a quick rice dish that fills the tummy and adds some nutrition too. This peas pulao fall in the easy and healthy category. No masalas, no fancy ingredients only basmati rice with little seasoning. Your rice will be ready in under 25 min. Yeah !! Just the time you are getting ready this will be ready for your tiffin box. A spicy side makes the lunch so special.

South Indian - Lime rice | Lunch Box Recipe

       Everybody likes to make a simple ,yet healthy,filling rice for Lunch box/Tiffin Box?.A South Indian style Lime Rice which is healthy,filling ,tasty. Got the perfect spice,colours,crunchiness too.

      Lime has got lots of vitamin C ,which helps fight cold and increase the body immunity during any season especially in  cold weather. I have mentioned many times in my previous post that we live in a  Mexican neighbourhood and there is an abundance of Mexican veggies and fruits available here. Lime is one such mexican fruit that add sourness for their dips ,salads,soups and rice.
       I hardly see any difference between  lemon rice  and lime rice ,but the later one has less vitamin C compared to former one.

Some other Easy lunch box rice recipes  Coconut rice,Tomato pulav,Mint rice.

                               South Indian - Lime Rice |Easy Lunch Box Recipe

                        How to make vazhakkai varuval for rice

 Cuisine: South Indian Category:Lunch Serves: 2   Prep time:15 minutes(marination time) Cook time:10 minutes Total time:30 minutes.



Ingredients:

• Juice from 1 1/2 small lime.
• Salt as required
• 1 1/4 cup raw rice.
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder.

To temper:

• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds.
• 1 tbsp Split channa dal or 1 tbsp peanuts.
• 1 tbsp oil.
• 3 green chili
• few curry leaves(optional)
• few cashews(optional)

Method:
Preparation:

• Take juice out of lime.
• Wash and soak the rice for 10 -15 min .
• Add 3 - 3 1/4 cups of water along with a drop of oil to rice.
•  Pressure cook the rice for a whistle.
• Cool it completely by placing in a large pot.

How To Cook South Indian Style Lime Rice:

• Heat oil in a saute pan and temper it with mustard seeds.
• After mustard seeds splutter add chana dal(cashew/peanuts) ,once it changes colour add slit green chili.
• Add turmeric powder and saute for sometime.
• Add lime juice ,let it boil for a minute.
• Now add tempered lime juice to rice.

• Add required salt as well.Mix very well until there are no lumps.
• Lime rice is ready.Enjoy your lunch.
• Perfect sides for rice.

Note:

• Adjust the spice and salt according to your taste.
• Cool the rice completely before adding the lime juice .You can cook the rice the night before in this case add more oil to get desired softness.

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Pics updated  3/3/2015 on recipe revisiting.

Lunch box recipes /Coconut rice and Potato fry

Coconut Rice

Coconut is a wonderful vegetable that I love. It has lots of calcium and nutrition ,which is good for teeth and bones. It has good cholesterol too. Coconut is very versatile it can be used a flavor enhancer, a condiment like in chutneys or you make it the feature of your dish. Coconut when boiled for too long is not very healthy.
I used to buy frozen coconut .But I love the taste of fresh coconut. In a local store I found fresh coconuts, I brought one and grated it and stored it. Coconut Rice is a dish that we used to have during our school days. My husband loves this rice .Once in a while when I buy a fresh coconut I make this for him. My little one loves coconut in any from.

Check for other rice recipes like Tomato Pulav,Mint Pulav,Pongal

Preparation Time:10 min
Cooking Time:15 min.
Serves :2

Ingredients:

• 1/4 of small coconut(grated).
• 1 cup raw Rice.
• 3 green chilies.
• salt as required 
• oil for tempering.(coconut oil is optional)

To Temper:

• 1/2 tbsp Mustard seeds.
• 1/4 tbsp split Channa dal.
• A Pinch of hing.
• Little curry leaves powder/Few Curry leaves.

Method:

• Wash the rice and  pressure cook it with little oil and required water ( Add the exact amount of water)
• Cook for one whistle and reduce the flame and cook it for  another 4 min .
• Now switch off the stove and allow it to cool till the pressure releases.
• To a hot saute pan add 2 tbsp of oil/coconut oil and add mustard seeds to it.
• After the mustard seeds splutter add channa dal (let it change color ).

• Add green chilies ,hing and saute for a min.
• Add the grated coconut and saute it for a min or two.
• Now switch off the heat and add the cooled rice .

• Add required salt and mix them thoroughly.
• Coconut rice is ready.

Note:

• Rice should be at room temperature before you add it to coconut .
• You can add coconut oil for tempering which gives extra flavor.
• Dont cook the coconut too much when you add it saute pan.

Potato Fry

Preparation time:5 min.

Cooking time:20-25 min.

Serves:2-3 

Ingredients:

• 2 large potatoes(pressure cooked for 3 whistles)
• 1 small Onion.
• 1/2 country tomato.
• A pinch of turmeric.
• 1 garlic pod.
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp Cumin powder.

To Temper:

• 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal.
• few curry leaves/ curry leaves powder.

Method:

• Pressure cook the potatoes for 2 -3 whistles until they are soft (not mushy)
• Cut them in to 1 inch pieces.
• Cut the onions and tomatoes in to small pieces as well.
• Add oil to the heated tava and add the items "to temper".
• Add onions,garlic and saute them until onions are translucent.
• Add tomatoes and cook them thorough.

• Add chili powder,cumin powder and turmeric and saute till the raw smell of the masala subsides.
• Add little water and add required salt.
• After the water  boiles and reduce in quantity add the cooked cut potatoes.

• Cover them with a lid and cook for another 5 -8 min until the potatoes absorb all the masalas.
• Potatoes should be coated and it should not have any water.

• Potato fry is ready..
• Enjoy your lunch.

Note:

• If the potatoes are not cooked allow them to cook before you add it to masala.
• Potato fry should be dry . So cook the fry until it absorbs all the water.

Linking it to Gayathris event and sahasra page

Tomato Pulav -Thakkali satham

All of us love the convenience of a one pot meal for a week day dinner. This is a one pot meal which can be done in no time. My mom used to make tomato masala rice for lunch during our school days. We used to leave out the tomatoes and just eat the rice. To make us eat the tomatoes she used to grind them and use the ground paste to prepare the masala.

This recipe is from my mother in law. She makes a killer tomato Pulav by using tomato puree and coconut. My hubby and my daughter love this dish a lot. This is an easy way to get kids to eat tomatoes. Trust me they will love it.

Preparation Time : 15 min

Cooking Time:20 min

Serves : 2 Adults

Kalkandu Pongal | Rock Candy Rice | Indian Sweet Recipes

        Today is the start of Navarathiri week , I wanted to start this festival days with a sweet dish.Navrathri festival is celebrated in South Indian households with Golu, where they keep figures of gods on show/display. In temples gods are decorated too in different avatars/forms.

Mint Pulav -Pudina Saadam

I love making one pot meals.You can make a weekday lunch in no time. Today I made Mint Pulav and Carrot Raitha to go with it. My Hubby and Daughter loved it.

Mint has medicinal properties and is known to aid digestion. In general I try to use greens in our every day diet.

Pongal

Pongal takes me down memory lane to my college days. Us hostelers used to eat pongal on Tuesdays for breakfast. We had a hard time keeping awake in class after eating pongal. I remember that I used to ask questions in classes just to keep awake. 

That said I assure you that this recipe wont be heavy, due to the seasonings used. This is a simple and a fast recipe cooked in a pressure cooker. Its also very nutritious. I tweaked my mom and mother in laws recipe and came up with this.

Cooking time:15 min

Serves:2-3