ANDHRA THALI | ANDHRA LUNCH

Its been my long time wish to try other state foods.I really got bored of making our usual sambar, vathakulambu etc..So with my hubby’s acceptance and guidance i tried andhra thali as a first step .He had tasted andhra food in some restaurants like Nandini , Nagarjuna .So he told me the names of dishes they serve in the platter .I googled and found good recipes from some of the blogs. They came out very well. My hubby thoroughly enjoyed all the dishes i made. I too loved it. My daughter who is a fussy eater loved the food. I was very happy that my first attempt in andhra food was a big success. While cooking i found some ingredients ,they use commonly in almost all the recipes.They use Red chillies , Ginger & Garlic paste , Hing and ajwain. .I think these ingredients gives the aroma and spiciness in their food. My house was filled with nice aroma when i prepare all these dishes.People who love spicy foods must try andhra food. Ok,coming to the platter ..
In the above picture u can see Andhra Sambar , Tomato Rasam , Mamdikaya cauliflower pachadi , Ivygourd poriyal  ( Tindora curry) , Palakura pappu ..

PALAKURA PAPPU / DAL PALAK

My hubby told this recipe tasted exactly like the one he had in restaurants. Thanks a lot sailu’s food .

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Toor dal/red gram dal/kandi pappu – 2 handfuls or 1/4 cup Palakura/palak/spinach leaves –2 small bunches ( washed and finely chopped) Big onion – 1 no ( chopped) Turmeric powder -  a pinch Green chillies – 2-3 nos ( slit lengthwise) Ginger – 1/2 inch piece ( chopped) Thick Tamarind extract – a tsp ( soak berry sized tamarind and add the extract) Salt & water – as needed For seasoning (Use a tsp of ghee) Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds/jeera – 1/2 tsp Urad dal- 1/2 tsp Garlic cloves, crushed – 3-4 Red chillies – 2 nos (pinched ) Curry leaves – few

METHOD

In a pressure cooker, place dal, washed and finely chopped palak leaves, onions, green chillies, ginger and turmeric powder. Add 1 to 2 cups of water and pressure cook upto 2 whistles. Heat ghee in a kadai, add mustards seeds and after they start to dance , add cumin seeds, urad dal,  crushed garlic, pinched red chillies and curry leaves and fry for half a minute. Add this to the pressure cooked dal along with salt and combine. Add the tamarind extract and cook on slow to medium flame for 5-7 mts without lid or till you get the consistency of your choice.Add water if necessary Enjoy mixing with plain white rice and ghee !!

NOTE

1. For variations u can try sauting the onions , green chilles , palak leaves in little oil before pressure cooking with dal.
2. Always do the seasoning in the end.
3. If u want u can do the seasoning using oil and add little ghee on top of the dal.
4. Give a standing time of at least half an hour before serving for all the tastes to blend.

  ANDHRA SAMBAR

I got the following recipes from here. If u wanna try varieties of andhra thali,u must visit this blog to get a good idea. She has given a nice collection of recipes.Thanks Srinithya

INGREDIENTS

Carrot,potato – 1 no each Drumstick- 1 no Tomato  - 1 no (chopped) Big onion –1 no ( chopped) Toordal- 1/2 cup Gooseberry sized tamarind – soak in warm water. Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp Madras sambar masala / any sambhar powder – 1 tsp Poppy seeds/gasalu-1 tsp Coconut dry / kobbari –2tsp Ginger garlic paste- 3/4 tsp Oil-2 tbsp To temper Mustard seeds -1 tsp Jeera / cumin seeds –1 tsp Hing -2 pinches Red chillies – 1 no ( pinched to two)

coriander leaves – to garnish.

METHOD

Pressure cook toor dal and the vegetables . Set aside. Dry roast poppy seeds, grated coconut and grind it to make a paste along with sambhar powder. keep aside. In a wide mouthed kadai , add oil and temper the mustard seeds , jeera , hing and turmeric. Add the G&G paste and saute well. Add the chopped onion and tomato pieces. Saute till tomato turns mushy.Add the tamarind extract and salt , few curry leaves.Allow it to boil for few mins. Now add the cooked dal and veggies along with ground poppy seeds paste. Boil for 10 mins in medium flame. Remove and add coriander leaves. Serve with hot , plain white rice adding little ghee !!

NOTE

1. The vegetables should not be over cooked.
2. As per the original recipe , madras sambar masala is used . But i used my home made sambar powder.
3. I also used red chillies while tempering and i tempered at the end.

MAMDIKAYA CAULIFLOWER PACHADI | RAW MANGO CAULIFLOWER PACHADI

Thought she has given varieties of pachadi in her blog , i chose this one just becoz of this  combination. I wanted to try this combo and as it sounded unique and different.I’ve got an yummy raw mango dish to add in my mango recipes list.

INGREDIENTS

Green Raw mango pieces  - 1no ( medium sized) Grated cauliflower florets -1/2 cup Garlic cloves – 5-6 nos ( chopped) Red chilli powder –2  tsp Roasted cumin fenugreek powder-1/8 tsp Turmeric-1/8 tsp Chopped garlic pods-3 tbsp Salt-to taste Water – As needed. To temper Oil-1 tbsp Mustard seeds-1 tsp Jeera – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves chopped – few Hing-2 pinches

METHOD

Peel the skin of raw mango and chop it finely.(Its better if u grate it ) Remove the cauliflower florets and add in boiling water along with little turmeric powder and salt. Remove and grate it. Set aside. Heat oil in a pan add mustard  , jeera , curry leaves and hing Add garlic and fry till brown.Now add veggies and fry for 2 seconds and close lid and cook till soft,stir in middle to avoid burning. Add little water if necessary. Add chilli  powder , turmeric powder and salt. Mix and cook for sometime. Serve with rice as a side dish !!

TINDORA TOMATO CURRY | IVYGOURD TOMATO STIR FRY

I have never used tindora in my cooking . So for a challenge i tried this curry . My husband who hates tindora  loved this a lot.

INGREDIENTS

Dondakaya/ivy guard chopped length wise-1 cup Chopped tomato –1 no Chopped big onion – 1no G&G paste – 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder- 2 tsp Salt-to taste Curry powder-2 tsp ( i used garam masala powder) Dry coconut powder-1tsp ( i used grated coconut) Turmeric-1/8 tsp Oil-3 tbsp To temper Mustard seeds-1 tsp Jeera  - 1/2 tsp Curry leaves- few Coriander leaves- few to garnish

METHOD

Pressure cook ivy guard pieces till done ,drain excess water and set aside. Fry the pieces in 1 tbsp of oil until crisp and set a side Heat oil in a pan and  temper all the above ingredients.Add onion  , ginger garlic paste and fry for 5 minutes till raw smell emanates. Then add tomatoes  and cook till soft. Add all the powders ,  salt and ivy guard pieces.Fry for 5 more minutes. Add coriander leaves and serve. It smells and tastes gr8 with rice as well as roti. !!

NOTE

1. I dint deep fry the tindora pieces instead  i shallow fried it for sometime and proceeded the recipe.
2. Make sure the tindora is not overcooked while pressure cooking.

TOMATO DAL  RASAM

I made slight changes in the actual recipe to suit my hubby’s taste. It tasted excellent and flavourful the next day. I reheated the rasam and used the same for two days

INGREDIENTS

Finely chopped tomatoes-3 nos Berry sized Tamarind Cooked tuvar dal -1/4 cup Ajwain/vamu /carom seeds/omam-1/2 tsp Hing-2 pinches Crushed garlic- 4 cloves salt-to taste Red chillies-2 nos Turmeric powder -2 pinches Black pepper powder – 1 tsp To temper Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Jeera – 1 tsp Curry leaves – few Coriander leaves – to garnish.

METHOD

Pressure cook toor dal with little turmeric powder till mushy and set aside. In a cooking bowl,  add water , tomatoes and tamarind. Cook till soft and reserve the boiled water . Grind the tomatoes and tamarind to make a paste. Crush ajwain with hands and set a side. Heat oil in a pan add cumin,mustard,hing,ajwain and dry chillies. Fry well and add garlic pieces.saute till golden brown. Now add mashed dal,tomato paste, water, crushed ajwain , pinched red chillies , salt and pepper powder. Boil for sometime . I added little sugar while boiling. Garnish with coriander Serve hot !!

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