Weekend Brunch 1

Weekend Brunch: 1

We generally prefer to skip b’fast if we plan on eating a proper heavy meal for lunch or sometime skip lunch if we decide to have heavy bfast…in which case obviously we can’t wait until12.30 or 1 p.m so we tend to make it our brunch at abt 11….After the hectic move last weekend all we wanted to do this weekend was eat traditional lunch, watch TV and stay at home. The first thing that came to my mind when I thought about traditional lunch was my favorite combo of Rice, Vethakuzhambu, Keerai masiyal , Sutta appalam carrot salad & curd. My mom's Vethakuzhambu was a big hit among all our friends and was always their menu request when they visited us.

Vethakuzhambu:

Ingredients:

Veggies- Small(pearl onion or shallots) onion/onions, drumstick, ladies finger

Sambar powder

Tamarind paste- 1 ½ Tbsp

Jaggery small piece(optional)

Rice flour(optional)

Salt to taste

water

Sesame(Gingelly) oil

For Tempering:

Mustard seeds- 1 Tbsp

Urad dhal- 1 Tsp

Channa dhal- 1 Tsp

Fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp

Curry leaves- few

Hing-Little

1. Heat gingelly oil(add more than usual oil for this) in a kadai or wok and add the tempering ingredients. Make sure the fenugreek seeds don’t turn too dark.
2. After the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves, hing and then add small onions(I added a cup of peeled small(pearl) onions and also ½ big red onion thinly sliced.
3. Saute the onions nicely in the oil until they become soft and then add 2 ½ tbsp of Sambar powder and fry it slightly in the oil.
4. Then immediately pour the tamarind paste mixed in water and then add salt to taste. Let this boil/cook in medium flame til oil floats on top.
5. Add a piece of jaggery if tamarind is too sour when cooking. Also if the kuzhambu is too thin then mix 1 tbsp of rice flour in water and then add it to the kuzhambu and let it boil well.(This step is optional)
6. Do not forget to add that extra hing at last for that great aroma

Healthy note: Two finely chopped garlic could be added while tempering to get some more nutritional value

Keerai Masiyal:

This is the simplest and healthiest form to have Keerai(Spinach).

Ingredients:

Spinach(Keerai)- 1 bunch

¼ cup Moong dhal

Salt

For Tempering:

Urad dhal- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 Tbsp

Channa dhal- 1 tbsp

Jeera seeds -1 Tbsp

Red chillies- 2 or 3

Coconut oil- few drops

Oil- 1 tbsp

Hing

Add the washed moong dhal to a vessel and cook it with some water. Moong dhal gets cooked fast so I didn’t pressure cook it. In the meantime,

Wash the spinach thoroughly twice or thrice and then cut into small pieces

Add the cut spinach to the cooked moong dhal, add salt, hing and cook it

Cook until spinach is really soft, cool it and then mash it with the back of a ladle.

In a pan, temper all the above mentioned tempering ingredients and add it to the mashed spinach.

As always, add a pinch of hing at the end.

Carrot Salad:

This is a simple salad my mom used to make and we called it Carrot Thuruvina(grated) curry.

Ingredients:

Carrots- 2 or 3

Coconut- 1 tbsp

Salt

For Tempering:

Urad dhal- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 Tbsp

Channa dhal- 1 tbsp

Jeera seeds -1 Tbsp

Green chillies- 2 or 3 finely chopped

Ginger- small piece finely chopped

Oil

Hing

For garnishing:

Cilantro leaves

Lemon juice

Wash and grate the carrot. Add salt to taste and then pour the tempered ingredients to this and mix well. Add finely cut cilantro leaves and some lemon juice to this.

Sutta appalam:

This is the healthier version of the usual deep fried appalams. All you need for this the regular appalam and roast it on both sides in a gas stove without burning it. I used the Iddiki to hold the appalam and roast it in the flame.

It will be tasty to have a little ghee in the middle of this roasted appalam (of course for kids)