Today’s recipe is made out of the grains that are fed to horses, ergo horse gram. Yep! Instead of the toor dal that is traditionally used in rasam, this recipe bases its protein content on horse gram. Horse gram is supposed to have some magical properties such as helping in weight loss. I don’t know if that’s a confirmed fact or not, but on cold rainy or winter days, it’s a good hearty soup/rasam to have piping hot with some steamed rice.
Ridge gourd Chutney (Peerkangai Thogayal)
A simple chutney made out of lightly peeled ridge gourd. Ridge gourd is also known as peerkangai (Tamil), beerakaya (Telugu), heerakai (Kannada), turai/tori (Hindi). This chutney or thogayal/thuvaiyal as it’s called in Tamil is great with idli/dosa, and with rice.
Asparagus Curry
I love asparagus! After having tried it as a soup, in pasta, and simply steamed, I was stumped for how else to use it, until a friend Indianised it and made a curry out of it. I don’t remember her exact recipe, but guessed and came up with a version that we love. It’s quick, and doesn’t compromise the tender, juiciness of the asparagus, but just adds a mild spiciness to it. Pairs well with rice as well as rotis.
On another note, is there any vegetable left that we Indians haven’t made a curry, chutney, or a podi out of? 🙂
Lemon Pickle South Indian Style (Elumichai Oorugai)
This is the basic lemon pickle recipe that is a staple in most Indian households. There are probably hundreds of variations of this preserve from the many regional cuisines in India. This one is a simple one made in Tamil Nadu. Goes excellent with the ubiquitous tambrahm cooler aka yogurt rice aka thayir saadam, upma, roti, etc. Versatile. Settles an uneasy stomach in its salted version. Just an amazing pickle.
Adai (Spiced Rice And Lentil Crepes)
Adai is a bit difficult to describe – it’s like dosai, but totally different in its composition (more hearty with the dals), taste (has some spice and heat to it) and presentation (not as thin). Maybe a rustic cousin of dosai? A high protein, wholesome and complete meal that doesn’t take hours of prep, no fermentation required, and is almost instant except for the soaking time of 2 hours required for the rice and the dals. I like to soak them at lunch, and it takes less than 30 minutes to grind, add the vegetables, and to have dinner on the table!