Pearl Millet Porridge/Kambu Koozh/Bajra

Benefits of pearl millet/kambu/bajra:

Reduces Heat, Kambu mixed with yogurt and some salt cools the body immediately and gives instant energy, High in protein, Keeps the body hydrated, Energises body, Prevents heart disease, Reduces acidity, Rich in calcium and iron, Rich in fibre, Rich in all amino acids, The whole grain supports weight loss, The grain is easily digestible and has the lowest probability of causing allergic reactions, Being rich in fiber content, kambu/pearl millet works very well in diabetes, Bajra / pearl millet/ kambu contains nearly 3.8 times minerals and nearly 6.5 times fiber and nearly 24 times iron than rice, Pearl millet contains nearly 5.2 times fiber and nearly 3 times Iron than wheat, pearl millet contains the maximum amount of iron content among the millets.

Ingredients:

Pearl millet – 1 cup

Cooked rice – ½ cup soaked overnight

Salt – as per taste

Water – 4 cups

Sour curd – as per your wish / ½ cup

Shallot – 5

Green chilli – 2

Preparation:

Clean and wash pearl millet/kambu without any dust/sand particles.

Soak in water at-least for 2 hours.

Add it in mixer jar and grind into liquid consistency. In a bowl add pearl millet paste, salt mix it well and rest it for 30 mins.

Heat a wide vessel add 4 cups of water, let it boil well.

Then pour the pearl millet/kambu paste into it and keep stirring continuously so that it won’t form lumps.

Once it reached a boiling point, put it in slow flame, add soaked boiled rice and mix it, let it cook for 20 mins or until it cooked well.

Transfer it into a bowl and serve it along with raw shallots, finely chopped green chillies and curd.

Have it with pickle or dry fish fry for added taste.

cooked rice

Mochai Payaru Gravy / Field Beans Gravy ver 1

Field beans seeds contain 22% protein, 2% fat, 61% carbohydrate (includes 5% fiber) as well as adequate levels of all vitamins and minerals. 

Ingredients:

Dry mochai payaru / field beans – 1 cup / 200gm

Tomato – 1 or 2

Salt – as per taste

Garlic – 5

Brinjal – 5

Drumstick – 1 whole cut into small

Chilli powder / sambar powder – 2 tblspn

Turmeric powder – ½ spn

Tamarind water - ½ small cup or as per taste.

To grind masala paste:

Coconut pieces – ½ cup

Cumin seeds – 1 spn

Garlic – 1 piece

Shallots / small onion – 50 gm

To temper:

Oil – 50 ml 

Fenugreek seeds – ½ t-spn

Mustard seeds – 1 t-spn 

Curry leaves – few

Shallots / small onion – 50 gm

Preparation:

Soak mochai payaru/field beans over night, then wash and add in cooker, add water till beans cover . Cook it for 1 whistle, then slow the flame and cook for 15 mins.

Add brinjal, garlic, drumstick, tomato pieces, add turmeric powder and salt close the lid and cook it for 1 whistle.

Open and Grind coconut,cumin,garlic first, then roast oions and grind it into fine paste

 add the masala paste, chilli or sambar powder, tamarind water in, mix it well and add ½ glass of water, cook for 7 mins stir occasionally.

Then temper it, heat oil add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves onion sauté well add it in gravy, mix. Serve it with hot rice.

Restaurant Style Sambar

Ingredients:

Pigeon pea / toor dal – 1 cup

Tomato – 1

Shallot/sambar onion – 10 cut into 2

Hing – 1 t-spoon

Turmeric powder – ½ spoon

Oil – 50 ml

Curry leaves – few

Tamarind water – 4 tbl spoon

Coriander leaves – few

Salt – as per taste

To temper:

Fenugreek – 3 pinch

Mustard seeds – ½ spoon

Shallots – 4 cut into 2

Curry leaves – few

To grind:

Coconut pieces – 5

Sambar powder – 3 tbl spoon

Turmeric powder – ½ spoon

Roasted gram / pottukadalai - 15

Tomato - 1

Hing – ½ spoon

Preparation:

In a cooker add toor dal, 1 tomato, onion, hing and turmeric powder and water till things fully covered , close the lid. cook for 1 whistle and 5 mins in slow flame.

Open and mix it well.

Temper and pour it in dal mixer.

Grind coconut, hing, turmeric powder, red chilli and roasted gram first without water, then add 1 tomato grind all together as a thick paste.

Add the paste in sambar, add salt and tamarind water, add required water, let it boil stir often. Sprinkle coriander leaves on top . close the lid cook for 5 mins in slow flame.

Serve with pongal, idly, dosa.

Tomato chutney

Ingredients: 

Tomatoes – 5 roughly chopped 

Onion – 1 big roughly chopped 

Garlic – 10 

Red chilli powder – 2 table spoon or more 

Curry leaves - few 

Poppy seeds – 1 table spoon 

Cashew nuts – 10 

Cinnamon – 1 

Cardamom – 1 

Star anise - 1 

Salt – as per taste 

Oil – 150 ml 

Preparation:

Soak poppy seeds and cashew nuts in water for about 30 mins.
Grind tomatoes into puree, and grind onion, poppy seeds, cashew nuts and garlic into fine paste.


Heat a cooker (use long cooker to avoid spaterring), add oil and temper with cinnamon, cardamom and star anise, reduce the flame and then add chilli powder, after that increase the flame add grinded pastes immediately mix it, add curry leaves, salt then boil well . 


Then slow down the flame and boil it till oil separates. Stir occasionally.


Serve with idly, dosa and chapathi.