Aviyal

It is a kind of gravy mixed with Curd, Vegetables with Cocunut- Chilli Paste. Also it is a very easy dish to prepare in short time                   

                       

Ingredients               

Ash Gourd --------------------->  1 cup, thinly cut about 1.5 inch long(Poosani kaai)

Raw green Plantain -----------> 1 cup, thinly cut about 1.5 inch long

Chayote -----------------------> 1 cup, thinly cut about 1.5 inch long

Beans --------------------------> 1 cup, cut into 1.5 inch long

Carrot --------------------------> ½ cup, thinly cut about 1.5 inch long

Green Peas --------------------> 1/2 cup

Drumstick ---------------------> 10 small pieces

Turmeric -----------------------> 1 tsp

Yogurt --------------------------> 1 cup

Salt  ----------------------------> A2Y taste

To Grind

Coconut ------------------------> 3/4 cup

Jeera ---------------------------> 2 tsp

Ginger --------------------------> 1.5 inch, peeled

Green Chillies ------------------> 5

                       

Seasoning                  

Mustard Seeds -----------------> 2 tsp

Red Chillies --------------------> 2

Curry Leaves ------------------> 1 sprig

Coconut oil ---------------------> 4 tsp

                       

Procedure                  

v  Pressure cook the vegetables with Green Chillies & Salt (I pressure cooked drumsticks separately for 4 or 5 whistles since it is frozen)                   

v  Pressure cook Green Peas with Salt                

v  Meantime, make smooth paste with the items in "To Grind “Section. While grinding add water if needed.   

v  In a Sauce pan, mix vegetables, peas & coconut paste, Turmeric; check for salt(No need to drain the water from the vegetables)              

v  After few minutes, add curd and mix well.                  

v  Leave it in medium and once u see the first bubbles coming up remove it; otherwise the yogurt will curdle.                       

v  Do the seasoning and pour over the Aviyal                 

v  Serve it with Adai                    

                       

It goes very well with any spicy gravies like Puli Kuzhambhu, vatha Kuzhambhu, Theeyal, Rasam, Sambhar. Cocunut oil gives nice aroma and taste, so please try not to subsitute any other oil.            

                       

Ideas:            

ü  No need to add water to the vegetables while pressure cooking. Just little salt will do the trick.       

ü  Other vegetables like Karunai kizhangu(Elephant Yam), Mango, Snake Gourd can also be added.      

ü  Do not overcook the veggies              

                       

Kizhanghu Adai

It is time for dinner and I already planned Kizhangu Adai for us, which needs to be spicy for my DH. My DM makes sweet adai by grinding Rice, Yucca root with Jaggery and Coconut. Simply I love it.

                                               

Ingredients                                       

ParBoiled/Idly Rice ------> 2 Cups, Soaked

Yucca Root -----------------> 2 Cups, Chopped (Maravalli Kizhangu)            

Red Chillies -----------------> 5     

Salt ---------------------------> A2Y taste   

Hing --------------------------> ½  tsp        

                                               

Procedure:                                        

·         Wash & Soak the rice for couple of hours                                             

·         Remove the hard, brown skin of Yucca Root using Peeler; chop into small chunks                                             

·         Grind everything to make fine, smooth batter; add water while grinding, but don't make it too watery.                                

·         Make little adais in dosa pans.                                   

·         Serve it with Idli Podi or Garlic Podi                 

                        

                                               

After making couple of Adais with plain batter for DH, I mixed chopped Amaranth leaves(MulaiKeerai or ThanduKeerai) with the batter.  This one was even more tastier tasty        

                          

                                               

Ideas:                                   

ü  Other healthier options of including grains like Wheat, Barley(high in fiber), Rye, Oats, Millet; Just powder them fine in the blender and add it directly to the batter.                                        

ü  Grinding Yucca root with any of the other beans/lentils mentioned in Multigrain/Sprouted Beans Adai can also be another option                

ü  Shredded Carrots or Cabbage, drum stick leaves as toppings                                      

ü  Alternative of White Idly or Parboiled rice is Brown Rice.                                              

    

Kids Special - Kizhanghu Adai

My DD is bored of same Chappatti, Idli, Rice, Kothumai Dosai, Pasta in the last of couple of weeks. So I decided to make this Kizhangu adai for her, but less spicy. Idea bulb suddenly instructed me to use Peppercorns & Jeera instead of Red ChilliesJ hmm , y don't I try it?

Ingredients                       

ParBoiled/Idly Rice ------> 1.5 Cups, Soaked

Yucca Root -----------------> 1.5 Cups, Chopped (Maravalli Kizhangu)

Peppercons ----------------> 1.5 tsp

Jeera -------------------------> 1.5 tsp

Salt ---------------------------> A2Y taste

Hing --------------------------> ½  tsp 

Procedure:

·         Wash & Soak the rice for couple of hours

·         Remove the hard, brown skin of Yucca Root using Peeler; chop into small chunks

·         Grind everything to make fine, smooth batter; add water while grinding, but don't make it too watery.

·         Make little adais in dosa pans. My DD likes Mickey Mouse Adai :-)

·         Serve it with Ghee & Sugar

Idea bulb didn't fail me. Adai was really yummy & Chewy because of Yucca root's texture. She also loved it, so I sent little adais for lunch.  Peppercorns & Jeera enhanced the taste & aroma.

Yucca is high in vitamins A, B, and C, and contains potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, manganese and copper which make it very soothing to the intestinal tract.  Peppercorns & Jeera helps in easy digestion, Cold, Cough. So definitely this adai will be a good choice for the kids.

Ideas:

ü  Other healthier options of including grains like Wheat, Barley(high in fiber), Rye, Oats, Millet; Just powder them fine in the blender and add it directly to the batter.

ü  Grinding Yucca root with any of the other beans/lentils mentioned in Multigrain/Sprouted Beans Adai can also be another option

ü  Shredded Carrots or Cabbage as toppings

Multigrain/Sprouted Beans Adai

                      

The name might sound too healthy, believe me it will be too tasty also. For vegetarians, the general concern is protein intake. But we know beans, lentils, peas are also rich in protein besides milk. My DD don't like eating cooked beans or green peas. So I ended up making Adai with the available grains, lentils, peas and beans; It is even more healthier since I sprout them.             

                               

Ingredients:                      

Channa dhal---------------------> ¼ cup

Moong Dhal---------------------> ¼ cup

Kidney Beans--------------------> ¼ cup

Pinto Beans----------------------> ¼ cup

Black eye beans----------------> ¼ cup

Black beans----------------------> ¼ cup

Garbanzo beans----------------> ¼ cup

Quinao----------------------------> ¼ cup

Green Peas----------------------> ¼ cup

Yellow Peas---------------------> ¼ cup

Idli Rice/Parboiled Rice/

Brown Rice/Oats---------------> 1 cup Only Soaking, no sprouting(explained below)

Red Chillies *-------------------> 6

Garlic * --------------------------> 5 cloves

Ginger *--------------------------> 3 inch

Hing *----------------------------> 1 tsp

                               

Toppings                            

Onion-----------------------------> 1 cup finely chopped

Carrot----------------------------> 1 cup shredded

Cabbage-------------------------> 1 cup thinly cut

Zuchinni--------------------------> 1 cup thinly sliced and cut

Cilantro--------------------------> 2 cups

Procedure:                        

·         Soak all of the items overnight(except * marked items) and let it sprout.(Sprouting takes 2 or 3 days; but it is optional)                             

·         Grind everything in a mixie/food processor including chillies, garlic, ginger, hing and salt     to make a paste.               

·         Add Carrot, cabbage, Onions, Cilantro, Zuchhini too the paste and mix well               

·         Let the batter be little thick; not too watery like dosa batter.                      

·         Make little Adais in dosa pan.                    

·         Serve it hot with Avial                   

                               

My DD likes eating Adai with the mixture of Ghee/butter & Raw sugar.                 

                               

Ideas:                   

ü  Other healthier options of including grains like Wheat, Barley(high in fiber), Rye, Oats, Millet require overnight soaking                

ü  If you are going to use Oats, no need to soak it; just dry grind it to make a powder and add it directly to the batter.

ü  Instead of vegetable Toppings, Drum stick leaves / Green Onions(Chopped) can also be added.               

ü  Make the Adai with the available beans & grains; skip the ones u don’t have.