RAW BANANA FRY / VAZHAKKAI FRY

         I usually make Raw banana/vazhakkai as  a dry curry or podimas. I wanted to try this one for a long time with freshly grounded spices. It goes well with rasam. Do give a try and I am sure you will love it.

INGREDIENTS

RAW BANANA	1
ONION	1
TURMERIC POWDER	A Pinch
PEPPER	1 Tsp
JEERA	1/2 Tsp
COCONUT	2 Tbsp
DRY RED CHILLY	2
GARLIC	1
CORIANDER POWDER	1 ½ Tbsp
SALT	To Taste
OIL	1 Tbsp

To Temper

MUSTARD  SEEDS	½ Tsp
URAD DHAL	1 Tsp
CURRY LEAVES	Few

STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Peel the skin of raw banana. Spilt them length wise & slice them into pieces. Soak them in the water or you can take the water which we used to soak rice (arisi mandi).

Take coconut,dry red chilly,pepper,jeera,garlic,coriander powder in a mixie jar.

Add little water & grind it to a coarse paste.

In a kadai heat oil & add the items given under the " to temper " table. Slice the onion length wise and fry till it turns pink.

Now pour the grounded paste. Add Turmeric powder,Salt.

Add the sliced raw banana.

Mix together both the grounded paste & raw banana.

Pour 1/2 Cup of water.

Cover it with a lid.

Cook till water evaporates. Keep in medium flame. Stir continuosly until the masala coats well.

Granish with corainder leaves.

Transfer to serving bowl.

If you like coconut oil it can be added at last.

BEANS USILI

       Beans usili is a great combo for Mor Kulambu. I had tasted only Kothavarangai Usili which my Mother in law prepared for me. Once when I was talking to my Friend cum Sister in law (Swarna) told that she prepared Beans usili for lunch. It was strange to me and I asked her "will it taste good?". She told me "why not?". She told me to try out immediately and say my feed back. Now I am preparing this often. Ok going on to the receipe

INGREDIENTS

FINELY CHOPPED BEANS	1 Cup
TOOR DHAL	½ Cup
CHANNA DHAL	½ Cup
DRY RED CHILLY	2 - 3
SOMBU	¼ Tsp
ASAFOETIDA	A Pinch
ONION	1
MUSTARD SEEDS	¼ Tsp
URAD DHAL	¼ Tsp
SALT	To Taste
OIL	2 Tbsp

STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Soak the dhals for 2 hrs. Drain water & keep aside.

In a mixie jar add Sombu,Dry red chilly, Salt, Asafoetida, Ginger(optional).Grind it then add the dhals without adding water to a coarse paste.

Chop the Beans finely.

Grease the Idly plate with oil. Now place the beans,Dhal mixture in the idly plate.

Steam it for 10 mins.

Allow the steamed dhal mixture to cool.Then grind in pulse mode.

You should get crumbled pieces.

In a kadai heat oil add mustard seeds,urad dhal,onion,steamed beans.Fry it for few mins.

Now add the dhal mixture.Give a quick stir.Add salt. Mix both beans,dhal together.

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Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOTES

I steamed beans in order to reduce cooking time. 

OKRA MOR KULAMBU

      For the first time when I tried Mor Kulambu it curdled up. I did not know the key factor. So I made up my mind not to make Mor Kulambu here after. Then now I made a try with the tips from Jeyashri's blog which came out perfectly.

INGREDIENTS

OKRA/LADY’S FINGER	4 - 5
CURD/YOGURT	1 Cup
GREEN CHILLY	3
TOOR DHAL	1 Tbsp
JEERA	1 Tbsp
COCONUT	2 Tbsp
HING	A Pinch
TURMERIC POWDER	A Generous Pinch
SALT	To Taste
OIL/ COCONUT OIL	1 Tsp
CURRY LEAVES (OPTIONAL)	Few

STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash & wipe the okra. Then cut into small pieces.

In a kadai add little oil & fry the okra until the stickiness is removed or till you find the brown spots on okra.

Transfer to a plate and keep aside.

Now take the curd and beat it to make buttermilk. Add turmeric powder,salt,asafoetida.

Soak toor dhal in water for 10 mins. Grind green chilly,coconut,jeera,toor dhal to a smooth paste. Add the butter milk for grinding instead of using water.

Now add the grounded mixture to the butter milk.

Now heat the mixture in a kadai in low flame. Switch off the flame when it starts to raise. It should not boil else it will curdle up.

Now temper mustard seeds in coconut oil. You can use Curry leaves, Dry red chilly for tempering. It is optional.

Add okra before serving.

It taste heaven with usili.

NOTES

• You can make mor kulambu with Ash gourd,Ulundhu vadai also.
• Corainder powder can also be added while grinding.
• You get the yellow colour only after boiling. So do not add more turmeric powder.