Valli payar thoran

Ingredients:
1. Valli payar chopped - 1 cup
2. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
3. Garlic pods - 2
4. Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
5. Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
6. Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Curry leaves - 2 stem
8. Salt- as required
9. Musturd seeds - 1 tsp
10. Dry Red chilly - 2
11. Oil - 1tsp

Method
1. Heat oil in a pan and splutter musturd seeds and add dry red chilly broken into pieces.
2. Add the chopped Valli payar and cook covered with required salt and water.
3. Grind the grated coconut, garlic, cumin powder, little salt, chilly powder, curry leaves. Just 1-2 pulse is enough. Do not grind it into a paste.
4. Whent he Valli payar is almost cooked , make a well in the middle , add the ground mixture cover it with valli payar and cook covered for 5 minutes.
5. Open the lid, mix the ground mixture with the payar and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes.
6. Adjust salt

Tip: if it is difficult to chop some of the beans , then take the seed out and add the seeds.

Kadala Curry (Kala Channa Masala)

One of the easiest recipes.

Ingredients:
Black gram (Kala Channa) - 1 cup soaked overnight
Big Onion- 1/2 cup finely chopped
Tomato - 1 chopped
Green chillies - 3 sliced
Curry leaves- 2 stem
Musturd seeds - 1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Corriander powder - 3 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Corn flour - 2 tsp
Salt - as required
water - as required

Method:
1. In a pressure cooker cook Channa with salt for about 2 whistles.  The amount of water should be just half an inch above the Channa.
2.  Open the cooker and add chilly powder, coriander powder , chopped onion, chopped tomato . Adjust salt if needed.Mix well and cook for 2 more whistles.
3. Open the cooker. Add the garam masala powder and mix well
4. Add corn flour and cook uncovered for some more time till the water is reduced and the gravy becomes thick. The corn flour acts as the thickening agent. Use as needed. Usually I keep cooking for 15-20 minutes to obtain the required consistency.
5. For seasoning, heat oil in a pan. Splutter  musturd seeds, add curry leaves and green chillies. Add these to the Kadala curry.
6. Serve with puttu or chappaty 

Tips for Happy week days!

Most of us will be gloomy on Sunday night thinking about the next 5 LONG weekdays. Being a wife/home maker your resposibility is doubled when it comes to prepare food during early mornings. There are some things that we can do during the week ends/ free time so as to reduce the  horse-race on a week day morning.

Things to do during weekend:
1. Check your refrigerator for the available veggies/meat/fish
2. Plan the dishes that you are going to prepare for the weekdays
3. If you need to buy some veggies/groceries/meat/fish do the shopping. So that you have enough raw materials in your storage to start with.
4. Check your storage and see if the spice-powders, chilly powder, turmeric powder, corriander powder, salt, masalas etc are in stock.
 5. Check your storage for things like potatoes, onions and daals.

If you can spend  1 or 2 hours during the weekend for chopping/cooking some of the things required for the weeks dishes, it makes your week days easier. That is the magic!

Here are some of the things which I found useful:

1. Peel and chop some garlic. Refrigerate.
2.  Peel and chop required big onions. Refrigerate
3. Peel and chop required small onions. Refrigerate
4. Slice and refrigerate required green chillies
5. Clean and chop required ginger.
6. Chop and refrigerate veggies like beans, cabbage. If possible cook the veggies with some salt and keep it for the weekday. So you can take the needed veggie, mix it and make the curry quickly and freshly!
7. Peel and keep some carrots ready
8. Soak and cook any two daals(Black channa, white channa, thoor daal, rajma, moong daal etc )with salt and refrigerate.
9. Make some dosa/idli batter and keep.
10. Boil and keep 2,3 potatoes ready.