KONGU CUISINE– KONGUNADU LUNCH RECIPES

Kongu Nadu is the most industrialised and prosperous region in Tamil Nadu..The Kongu region comprises of places right from Ooty to Dharapuram which includes coimbatore , salem and its a big list .. I worked in kongu engineering college before my marriage. I have tasted some of their foods.As i have an interest to try other area foods , kongu recipes were in my try list for a long time..I have bookmarked some recipes from different blogs and i gave a try ..Kongu foods has more of coconut and pulses in many dishes and most of the recipes were made using freshly ground spices ..So it has a nice aroma and taste.The best thing is they use very less oil in their recipes.For non-veg lovers  , there are a lot more recipes to try.. As a vegetarian , i found these recipes as simple to try and to make a perfect meal..The most popular recipe among these is arisi paruppu sadam. I saw different versions in many blogs and long back i tried it with just sambar powder but somehow we dint like that taste. May be their sambar powder is different from mine and i missed the aroma..So this time i tried it from valarmathi’s blog in which she suggested to use freshly ground spices. It was very nice and had a nice flavour..Also i tried poondu kuzhambu from her blog which is very easy to prepare. We loved its taste.In addition to this, i tried potato fry from ramya’s blog and paruppu keerai from plantain leaf..To complete the meal , i made ilaneer payasam . This time i dint add condensed milk.Still there is a big list of recipes like kollu masiyal , kootu etc to try.. I’ll make one by one and post here..I was not able to take better pictures this time as i was in a hurry to serve it for my hubby.By the time i clicked , there was a heavy shadow near my window. If possible , i’ll make again and post some good pictures .

ARISI PARUPPU SADAM

My mom makes tirunelveli special thuvaram paruppu sadam. The taste of arisi paruppu sadam reminded my mom’s recipe..We  enjoyed this rice with vadagam/vathal & potato fry..

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

Rice – 1/2 cup ( steamed rice/ boiled rice / puzhungal arisi) Water – 1.5 cups ( add as per ur rice) ( i used 1:3 ratio, please use the ratio u follow in ur daily cooking ) Toor Dhal  - 1/8 cup ie. 2 tbsp Onion – 1 no (medium , slice cut) Tomato – 1/2 no (finely chopped) Coriander leaves – few ( to garnish) Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp Cashew nuts - few (optional) To temper: Oil –1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp To grind Garlic - 3 cloves Dry Red Chilly – 2-3 nos Curry leaves – few Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Corns - 1/4 tsp

METHOD

Grind the ingredients said above to a coarse paste adding water and keep aside. Wash Rice and dal.Soak for 15 mins. Heat oil in a pressure cooker & add mustard seeds to it and allow it to splutter. Then add the onions and fry until golden brown. Now add chopped tomatoes to it and fry till the tomatoes are mushy.Then add the ground paste to it and fry till the raw smell goes.Now add rice and dal to it and add water. Now add turmeric powder , coriander leaves and salt.. Pressure cook for 2 or 3 whistles.Fry the cashew nuts in ghee and add to the rice and serve.

As valarmathi suggested , i enjoyed this rice with vathal/appalam and potato fry.. This rice tastes good with potato chips too..

POONDU KUZHAMBU/ GARLIC GRAVY

Its very easy to prepare and a simple recipe..!! Thank u so much valar..

INGREDIENTS

Garlic cloves – 1/4 cup Big or small Onion, chopped – few pieces Tomato – 1 no ( small, chopped ) Tamarind – Big gooseberry sized Red Chillies – 2 nos Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder – 1.5 tsp Chilly Powder - 3/4 tsp Coriander leaves – few ( optional) Jaggery –a pinch (optional) Oil – 2 tsp Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Salt & water – as needed

METHOD

Soak tamarind in water and extract a cup of tamarind juice from it and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds to it, after it splutters add pinched red chillies to it. Add the chopped onions and garlic fry till they are golden brown. Then add tomatoes and fry till they become soft. Now add turmeric powder, chilly powder and coriander powder to it and mix well.Then add tamarind juice, water and salt to it. Add  jaggery if u use..Cook the gravy till it becomes thick and garlic are soft. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve !!

PARUPPU KEERAI

It tasted more like dal palak. It was a nice combo for poondu kuzhambu..

INGREDIENTS

Greens – 1 cup chopped  ( i used arai keerai) Toor dal  – 1/3 cup (you can use split pigeon peas or yellow lentils) Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Oil – a drop Onion – 1 no (medium chopped) Garlic --- 6 cloves ( chopped) Green chillies – 2 nos (slit) Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp Salt to taste For seasoning Oil – 1 tsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp Asafetida – 1/8 tsp Curry leaves – few

METHOD

Pressure cook dal adding turmeric powder & oil. Mash the dal and set aside. In a kadai , temper all the ingredients and add the chopped onion, garlic cloves. green chillies and saute well. Now add the washed & chopped green and saute for sometime. Add water and cover cook till the greens are cooked well.Then add pepper powder , cooked dal and required water, salt. Allow it to boil for few seconds , remove& serve hot !

POTATO FRY

For this recipe , ramya used brinjal & potato .. As my hubby doesnt like brinjal , i used only potatoes. I dint use much oil , first i roasted potatoes in little oil and i added little water to cook them.. It was not much oily and was tasty too..

INGREDIENTS

Potato – 3 nos (medium sized , cut into pieces) Big onion – 1 no, chopped ( original recipe used small onions ) Sambar powder – 1-2 tsp Grated coconut / dry coconut – 2 tsp Salt – as per taste To temper Oil – 2 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Channa dhal – 1 tsp Green chilli - 1 no( finely chopped.) coriander leaves for garnishing.

METHOD

Heat oil in a pan and once its hot,add the mustard seeds. When it splutters , add the channa dal.Saute until it turns light brown in color and then add onions.fry till transparent. Add the chilli,curry leaves and turmeric powder and saute well. Now add the potato pieces and sambhar/red chilli powder and the salt needed and cook it covered until the potatoes are cooked by sprinkling little water ( If u don’t want to add water , add more oil and allow it to roast and cook in oil itself) Just before turning off the flame,add the grated coconut and gently stir.Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it hot.

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