South Indian treats

Food fix

Sweet Pongal
Ingredients: Oats – 1cup, moong dal – ½ cup, ghee – ¼ cup, cashew and raisins – 50 gms roasted in ghee, pachakarpura (edible camphor) – a pinch, cloves – 4, jaggery - 1 ¼ cup, copra – ¼ cup, milk – 3 cups.

Method: Heat a tablespoon of ghee, fry oats and moong dal separately. Transfer this to a cooker and add milk, and cloves. Wait for three whistles and then let it cool. Add jaggery, cardamom powder little, edible camphor, cashew ad raisins cook well. If it is too thick add more milk. Add the remaining ghee.

Oats Khara Pongal
Ingredients: Oats – 1 cup, moong dal – ½ cup, copra – ¼ cup, green chillies – 4 chopped, ginger – 1-inch piece chopped, pepper corns – 1 tsp, cumin seeds – 1tsp, salt, oil – ¼ cup, ghee – 2tbsp.

Method:  Take oats, moong dhal in a cooker add 3 cups of water, ginger, green chillies. Wait for  2 whistles and let it cool. Dry roast cumin, pepper and powder. Add to the pongal, also add copra & salt, adjust water if it is thick and cook for a while. Heat ghee & oil, add a little mustard seeds, cumin seeds, pepper seeds, curry leaves, hing & red chillies – 2. Fry well, add to the pongal, serve with coconut chutney.

Coconut Chutney
Ingredients: 1 cup coconut grated, 2 green chilies roasted in oil, a little tamarind, salt, fresh coriander – ½ cup.

Method: Blend the coconut, green chillies, salt in a mixie and add coriander leaves. Whisk once and take it out. Adjust the water to get proper consistency.

Mixed Grams Kootu
Ingredients: Mixed grams – black channa – ¼ cup, field beans – ½ cup (awarekaalu), fresh ground nuts – ¼ cup, tomato – 2 chopped.

For the masala paste:  – Green chillies – 4 to 8, coconut – ½ cup ground coarsely.
Method: In a cooker, put a tablespoon of oil. Add mustard, one chopped onion, red chillies and curry leaves. Fry well and add  the soaked channa, field beans, ground nuts, tomato, 1 to 1 ½ cups of water and salt. Wait for 2 whistles and serve hot.