Karunai Kilangu Kulambu-Karunai Kizhangu Puli Kuzhambu-Yam Kara Kulambu Recipe

Puli Kulambu or Kara kulambu is a traditional and popular dish of Tamil Nadu. We love all kulambu varieties and I make kulambu once in a week. Today I am sharing with you kara kulambu prepared with yam/karunai kilangu.  Yam has lot of health benefits. As it is a rich source of fibre, it helps prevent constipation. It is also used in treating piles. It has cooling properties and is also said to cure menstrual problems. So it is good to include yam now and then in our diet. Learn to make yam kara kulambu following this easy recipe with step wise pictures.

Karunai Kilangu/Yam Kulambu

 Prep Time : 15 mins

 Cook Time : 20 mins 
 Serves: 3-4
 Recipe Category: Kulambu
 Recipe Cuisine: South Indian
 Author:Padhu Sankar

   Ingredients needed

   Yam/karunai kilangu -1/4 kg or 5 small ones
   Pearl Onion -15-20
   Garlic - 15-20
   Tomato - 1 chopped
   Sambar Powder - 2 tbsp
   Coriander Powder - 1 1/2 tsp (optional)
   Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
   Sea salt - 1 tbsp flat or as needed

   Tamarind - small gooseberry sized ball (around 20 grams)

   For the Seasoning

   Sesame Seed Oil - 3 tbsp
   Mustard seeds/Kadugu - 1 tsp
   Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam - 1/2 tsp
   Hing - a pinch
   Red Chilli - 1
   Curry leaves - a sprig

   For Garnishing

   Sesame seed oil - 1-2 tsp

Preparations 

Wash and pressure cook yam for 2 whistles until soft but not mushy. Peel the skin and cut it into 3-4 pieces.

Soak tamarind in a cup of hot water for 20 minutes. Extract tamarind water, add more water and extract more tamarind water. Discard the pulp. We need approximately 2 - 2 1/4 cup of tamarind extract.

Peel pearl onions and garlic. If the pearl onions are big, cut it into 2 pieces.

Method

Heat oil in a kadai/pan, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add fenugreek seeds, hing, red chilli and curry leaves.

Add pearl onions and garlic and saute until it turns transparent.

Add tomato and saute for a few more minutes.

Add sambar powder, coriander powder and salt needed.

Saute for a few seconds.

Add tamarind water and let it boil on medium heat.

After 5 minutes, add the cooked yam and let it boil until it becomes a little thick and oil separates.

Drizzle a 1-2 tsp of sesame seed oil and turn off the heat.

Enjoy delicious yam puli kulambu with rice or even with dosa.

Note - Use Sesame seed oil for best results.

Our South Indian Lunch on that day

Vazhaikkai curry

Red amaranth-red mulai keerai kootu 

Yam kulambu

Curd in clay pot

If you are looking for more delicious South Indian kulambu recipes, do check my

South Indian Kuzhambu Varieties

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Ragi Kuzhi Paniyaram-Finger Millet Sweet and Kara Paniyaram Recipe

Ragi paniyaram (both sweet and savory) makes a light breakfast and also a healthy snack. Today I am going to share with you both savory and sweet ragi paniyaram with whole finger millets. You can use even sprouted ragi for this recipe. I adapted the recipe from here and loved it very much that it became a regular feature in my kitchen. The paniyarams turn out soft every time without adding any baking soda or cooking soda. The leftover paniyaram batter can be used to make thick dosas also. The savory paniyaram tastes delicious with tomato chutney or kara chutney or mint chutney. The sweet ones can be had as such. Learn how to make delicious and healthy ragi paniyaram with this easy recipe today.

Finger Millet/Ragi - Sweet and Kara Paniyaram

 Prep Time : 30 mins (excluding soaking time)

 Cook Time : 10 mins 
 Serves: 3-4
 Recipe Category: Snacks-Breakfast
 Recipe Cuisine: Indian
 Author:Padhu Sankar

   Ingredients needed

   For Paniyaram Batter

   Finger Millet - 1 cup
   Raw Rice - 3/4 cup
   Idli Rice - 3/4 cup
   Urad dal - 1/4 cup
   Salt to taste

   For Kara/Spicy Paniyaram

   Oil - 1 tbsp
   Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
   Bengal gram/kadalai paruppu - 2 tbsp
   Urad dal - 2 tbsp
   Whole black peppercorns - 1 tsp
   Salt to taste

   Shallots/pearl onions - 15
   Green Chilli - 1-2
   Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
   Coriander Leaves - 2-3 tbsp finely chopped
   Tender Curry leaves - a sprig

   Oil for frying paniyarams

   Sweet Paniyaram

   Paniyaram Batter - 1 cup
   Jaggery - 1/2 cup
   Coconut - 1/4 cup
   Cardamom - a generous pinch

   Ghee for frying paniyarams

Preparations

Wash and soak raw rice, finger millet, idli rice, urad dal together for 3-4 hours.

Grind it to a smooth paste adding water gradually. The consistency of the batter should be that of idli batter. So do not add too much water.

Add little salt to the batter, mix well and ferment. As we are going to use the same batter for making both savory and sweet paniyarams, add less salt and leave it to ferment for 5 hours.

Now the batter is ready.

For making Savory/ salted paniyarams

Take needed batter, add salt to it and mix well.

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, when it sizzles, add bengal gram, urad dal and whole black pepper corns. You can also add broken cashew nuts if preferred.

When dal turns golden brown, add finely chopped pearl onions, finely chopped ginger and green chillies and curry leaves.

When onion turns transparent, add finely chopped coriander leaves, salt needed and remove from heat.

Mix it with the batter.

Heat paniyaram pan, add 1/2 tsp oil inside the cavities/holes.

Fill the holes with the batter. Cook covered on low heat.

Once you find the corners lifting up, flip it over to the other side with a spoon or paniyaram stick.

Cook on low heat uncovered until done. Simply take a toothpick/paniyaram stick and insert it into the center of the paniyaram, if it comes out clean, it is done.

Serve paniyaram hot with any chutney of your choice.

How to make sweet paniyaram

I kept aside 1 cup of the batter to make sweet paniyarams. 1 cup of batter yields approximately  7 paniyarams.

Method

Heat 2-3 tbsp of water, add jaggery (add a little more jaggery than mentioned if you want it very sweet) to it and dissolve it. Stain to remove any impurities in the jaggery.

Heat the jaggery again, when it starts to bubble, add grated coconut, cardamom powder and remove from heat.

Mix it well and add to the paniyaram batter. Mix the batter well.

Heat paniyaram pan, add 1/2 tsp of ghee in each of the holes.

Fill in all the cavities/holes with the sweet paniyaram batter.

Cook covered on low heat. When the corners starts to lift up, flip it over to the other side and cook uncovered until done. Enjoy warm sweet paniyarams as such.

Paniyarams make a healthy after school snack for kids. If you are searching for more healthy snacks like these, then check healthy snacks for kids.  If you love paniyarams, find more paniyaram recipes below -

Sweet Paniyaram 

Kuzhi Paniyaram 

Millet Kara Paniyaram 

Egg Paniyaram 

Instant Wheat flour paniyaram 

Sweet Appam 

Unniappam (Kerala recipes)

Rava Kara Kuzhi Paniyaram  (sooji)

If you have paniyaram pan, you can also make guilt free snack like vada, bonda etc.

South Indian Thayir Vadai 

Beetroot Kola Urundai

Lauki Kofta 

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Capsicum Cheese Paratha Recipe-Bell Pepper Onion Cheese Paratha

Capsicum Cheese paratha is an Indian flatbread stuffed with bell pepper and grated cheese. It is great for breakfast, dinner or as a light lunch. On a different note, I am updating this blog after a long gap of more than a month, as I was holidaying in the United States and United Kingdom. My apologies for not answering to many of the comments and emails during that period. If time permits, I will try to answer atleast a few questions in the coming days. Back to capsicum cheese paratha, this paratha goes well with just plain curd/dahi, pickle or masala curd. Today we will learn two methods of making capsicum cheese paratha following this easy recipe with step wise pictures.

Capsicum Cheese Paratha

 Prep Time : 10 mins

 Cook Time : 20 mins 
 Serves: 4 Parathas
 Recipe Category: Dinner-Breakfast-Parathas
 Recipe Cuisine: Indian
 Author:Padhu Sankar

   Ingredients needed

   Wheat flour - 1 cup
   Rice flour - 1 tbsp (optional)
   Salt - 1/4 tsp
   Oil - 1 tbsp

   For the Stuffing

   Oil - 1 tbsp
   Carom seeds/Ajwain seeds - 1/4 tsp
   Garlic - 2 cloves
   Onion - 1
   Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
   Capsicum/Bell Pepper - 1 cup (all colors)
   Salt needed
   Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
   Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
   Coriander powder - 1 tsp
   Roasted cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
   Kitchen king masala - 1/2-3/4 tsp
   Coriander Leaves - 2 tbsp finely chopped
   Cheese mozzarella - 1/3 cup

   Oil for tawa frying parathas

Preparations

Mix wheat flour, salt, rice flour and oil together. Add warm water gradually and make a soft dough just as you make for chapatis. The dough should not stick to your hands. Knead the dough well and let it rest for 20 minutes.

Chop bell pepper into very small pieces. Finely chop onion and garlic.

Heat oil in a pan, add carom seeds, when it sizzles, add garlic and onion. Saute until onions turn translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a few more minutes.

Add chopped bell peppers, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, kitchen king masala powder or garam masala powder and salt needed.

Cook for a few minutes until bell pepper turns a little tender. Add finely chopped coriander leaves and leave it to cool.

Once it cools completely, add grated cheese and mix well. (Do not add cheese when the mixture is hot.)

Method

Now we will make the parathas - I have given two methods below. You can follow any one which is comfortable for you.

Method 1

Grease your hands with oil and knead the dough well again.

Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Make smooth balls from the dough. Take 2 balls and roll out each into a small circle (approximately 4-5 inches in diameter). You can dust rice or wheat flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin or board.

Place a little stuffing on the top of a rolled out circle and spread the stuffing evenly leaving the corners. (see picture below)

Then place another rolled out dough on top of it and seal the corners by pressing it lightly.

Now roll it out gently with the stuffing inside to a circle approximately 7 inches in diameter dusting wheat flour. Repeat the same for the rest of the dough.

Method 2

Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and make smooth balls out of it.

Roll out a ball into a circle, place a little stuffing on the center. Bring the corners or edges together and seal it well with the capsicum cheese stuffing inside.

Now dust flour and roll it out into a circle approximately 7 inches in diameter.

How to cook parathas

Heat a tava and put the rolled out paratha on it. Wait for bubbles to appear, apply a tsp of oil (oil + ghee mixed) on the top and flip it over to the other side. Cook both sides well until brown spots appear.

Enjoy delicious capsicum cheese paratha warm with curd or any pickle.

Check more Paratha Recipes

If you found this post useful, I would really love it, if you pin it or share it with your Facebook fans or Twitter followers or Google+ circles or Instagram today. All it takes is a simple click on the “pin it” “like,” “share,” “tweet,” or Google+ buttons below the post.Thank you!  I would love to hear from you, please feel free to share your feedback with photos to padhusblog@gmail.com 

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Methi Chole Recipe-Methi Chick Pea Curry-Methi Channa Sabzi

Methi Chole is a very delicious curry prepared with fresh fenugreek leaves (methi leaves) and chick peas. It pairs well with both rice and phulka/chapati. This curry is very nutritious, rich in fiber, protein and vitamins. Today we will learn how to make Punjabi Methi Chole masala following this easy recipe with step wise pictures. 

Methi Chole

 Prep Time : 30 mins

 Cook Time : 20 mins 
 Serves: 2-3
 Recipe Category: Side Dish
 Recipe Cuisine: Indian
 Author:Padhu Sankar

   Ingredients needed

   Chick peas - 3/4 cup
   Fenugreek leaves - 2 cups tightly packed
   Onion - 1 cup chopped
   Tomato Puree - 1 cup
   Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
   Salt needed

   Spice Powder

   Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
   Coriander powder - 2 tsp
   Roasted Cumin powder - 3/4 tsp
   Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
   Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
   Dry mango powder/amchur powder - 1/2 tsp

   For the seasoning

   Oil - 2 tbsp
   Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
   Red chilli - 2
   Hing - a generous pinch

   For Garnishing

   Coriander leaves

Preparations

Pick and clean methi leaves (This is more most time consuming and hectic part). You can use the very tender stems also. Wash and chop it finely.

If using dry chick peas, wash and soak it overnight and pressure cook with a little salt and water for 3-4 whistles until soft. Keep it aside. If using canned chick peas, just rinse it.

Grind 3 - 4 raw tomatoes (we need 1 cup of tomato puree) and keep it ready.

Finely chop onions.

Method 

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, hing and red chillies.

When cumin seeds sizzles, add finely chopped onions. Saute until onions turn light golden brown. Add salt to speed up the process.

Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a few more minutes.

Add chopped fenugreek leaves and cook on low heat until they wilt.

Add tomato puree.

Add all the spice powders, salt needed and cook until the rawness of the tomato goes and the mixture changes color.

Add cooked chick peas along with a little water in which it was cooked and mix well.

Mash a few chickpeas and cook on low heat for a few minutes. This is a semi gravy, so do not add too much water.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rotis, parathas or with rice.

Our Lunch that day - Phulka, plain dal/paruppu, potato capsicum sabji, cucumber raita/pachadi, methi chole, rice and pickle.

Refer more Methi Bhaji Recipes from Padhuskitchen.

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Peanut Ladoo Recipe-Groundnut Sesame Seed Coconut Laddu with Jaggery

Peanut sesame seed coconut laddu is very nutritious, healthy and easy to prepare. You just need 3 main ingredients for making this laddu.  I love snacking on these healthy guilt free laddus. As these laddus contain peanuts, jaggery and sesame seeds, they are rich in protein and iron. These guilt free laddus can be had as a snack, can be given to children as after school snacks or can be packed in their snack boxes. I often make and stock these kinds of healthy laddus at home to snack in between meals. I adapted the recipe from here. What I loved is the addition of ganthoda powder. Ganthoda/Peppermaul powder is made from the root of long pepper. It is said to help joint pains and gastric troubles. Today we will learn how to make nutritious peanut laddu with jaggery, sesame seeds (til) and dry coconut following this easy recipe with step wise pictures.

Peanut Ladoo Recipe

 Prep Time : 15 mins

 Cook Time : 15 mins 
 Serves: 20-21 Peanut Ladoos
 Recipe Category: Healthy Snacks
 Recipe Cuisine: Indian
 Author:Padhu Sankar

   Ingredients needed

   Peanuts - 1 cup
   Dry Coconut - 1 cups
   Sesame seeds - 1/2 cup
   Ghee/clarified butter - 6 tbsp
   Jaggery - 1 cup grated
   Dry ginger powder/sukku - 1 tbsp
   Ganthola powder - 2 tsp (optional)

Preparations

Dry roast peanuts on medium heat stirring continuously till it splutters and and is nicely roasted. Once it cools, rub the peanuts and remove the skin.

Dry roast sesame seeds until it splutters. Leave it to cool.

Grind peanuts and sesame seeds separately until slightly coarse.

Method

In a bowl, mix together powdered sesame seeds and powdered ground nut/peanut powder.

Add dry coconut powder, dry ginger powder and ganthola powder. Mix everything well.

Heat 2-3 tbsp of water and dissolve jaggery in it. Filter it to remove any impurities.

Now add ghee to the filtered jaggery and heat it again. Boil until it bubbles and starts thickening.

Add the jaggery syrup to the peanut, coconut and sesame seed mix.

Mix well until there is no dry flour.

Once the mixture is warm, make even sized smooth balls from the mixture.

Storage and Shelf Life

After it cools completely, store it in an airtight container. It stays at room temperature for 1 month and for a longer period, if refrigerated. 

If you love these nutritious laddus like me, check our collection of more such Ladoo Recipes

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Conchiglie Pasta with Tomato Sauce-Bell Pepper-Red Sauce Pasta Recipe

Conchiglie Pasta is commonly known as "shell pasta". This is one of my favorite pasta and I love it both with white sauce and red sauce. For this pasta recipe, I have added colored bell peppers to make it more nutritious and colorful. This conchiglie red sauce pasta with bell pepper makes a filling meal and is very easy to prepare. This is sure to be a hit with the entire family. Today we will learn how to make this Easy Conchiglie Pasta recipe following our step by step pictures.

Easy Conchiglie Pasta Recipe

 Prep Time : 15 mins

 Cook Time : 15 mins 
 Serves: 2
 Recipe Category: Pasta-Dinner Recipes
 Recipe Cuisine: International-Pasta
 Author:Padhu Sankar

   Ingredients needed

   Shell pasta or any pasta - 1 1/4 cup
   Salt needed

   Large Tomatoes - 6
   Garlic - 2 tbsp minced
   Onion - 1
   Bell Pepper (all colors) - 1 cup
   Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
   Dry Oregano powder - 3/4 tsp
   Dry Basil Powder - 1/2 - 3/4 tsp
   Salt to taste
   Pepper powder to taste
   Grated cheese - 1/4 cup

Preparations

Using a sharp knife, cut a shallow X at the bottom of the tomato. Bring water to boil. Add all the tomatoes and let it cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the water, peel the skin and discard the core. Chop 2 tomatoes and keep it aside. Puree the other 4 tomatoes and keep it ready.

Finely chop onion and garlic. Chop all the bell peppers.

How to cook Conchiglie pasta

Bring plenty of slightly salted water to boil. Add the pasta, reduce the heat to medium and let it cook. Keep stirring in between to prevent the pasta from sticking to each other. Cook until soft but not mushy. Test by tasting the pasta (you can use any pasta for this recipe).

Once cooked, drain the water and pour cold water on top of it to stop further cooking.

Method

Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic and saute for a few seconds. Then add onions and saute until onions turn transparent.

Add chopped tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes.

Add the chopped bell peppers. Cook for a few seconds.

Add tomato puree, tomato ketchup, salt needed, pepper powder, dry oregano powder and dry basil powder.

Cook on low heat stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens and changes color.

Now the sauce and the pasta is ready. Mix the pasta with the sauce. Top it with grated cheese (morzella or parmesan) You can even use amul cheese, if you cannot get parmesan cheese.

Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy it warm. It makes a meal in itself. It is easy, comforting, effortless and of course super delicious. These shell pastas holds the sauce well and that makes it very delicious. 

Some of my favorite pastas are Pesto pasta, Roasted bell pepper pasta, creamy spinach pasta. We have more pasta recipes. Check Pasta Recipes.

I would love to hear from you, please feel free to share your feedback with photos to padhusblog@gmail.com

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