Puli Inji, Inji Puli, Sweet & Sour Ginger Pickle

          Onam is a festival, celebrated in the state of Kerala, India, and it is celebrated for 10 days. As much as the Pookkalam ( Art With Flowers ), the Onam Sadya is equally important and has become very popular, that many restaurants offer a Onam Sadya Special for at least 3 to 4 days. Last year I had the chance of having it and being a big fan of Kerala food, I loved it. The traditional Onam Sadya has a couple of pickles, number of curries, pachadis and pradamans/payasams and is served on a banana leaf. One of the items served is this Inji Puli or Puli Inji, a sweet, spicy and sour pickle with ginger and tamarind. I have adapted the recipe from a cookbook, this is a simple dish and it goes very well with just plain rice or as a side to curd rice too..

Nellikai Oorugai, Gooseberry Pickle

          I don't make pickles that much at home, because we don't have them regularly in our meals, occasionally we have it with curd rice or with parathas. It's not that we don't like pickles, somehow it has never become a habit, but after a heavy meal I always like to end it with a little curd rice and pickle. Making pickles is an art by itself, I have tried making only a few easy ones, today's Nellikai Oorugai/Gooseberry Pickle is one of them. This was the first time that I had tried it out and it turned out really good..

Maa Inji Thokku, Mango Ginger Pickle

          After, all the festive food for the last couple of days, most of us should be tired of seeing sweets and snacks, so today's post is going to be a spicy and tangy Thokku/Pickle with Maa Inji/ Mango Ginger. I actually made this some time back, when I had a couple of bags of maa inji, the same time, that I had made the simple pickle with it and the rice. This thokku is again easy to make, and it tastes very good with curd rice, or mixed with some plain white rice, or even as a side to idlis, dosas and rotis..

Quick Maa Inji Urugai, Mango Ginger Pickle

          Maa Inji or Mango Ginger, for those who are hearing about it the first time, it looks similar to ginger but it doesn't taste like ginger. It has a bland taste but it smells like raw mangoes, hence the name Maa Inji ( in Tamil ). We can't use this in place of ginger in teas or curries, it's mainly used for making pickles. Today's pickle is a simple one, since the ginger is tasteless, we mix it with lemon juice and green chillies to give the pickle the required tartness and spiciness. This goes well with curd rice, dal and rice, a perfect accompaniment to any meal..

Sundakkai Oorugai, Turkey Berry Pickle

          Sundakkai/Turkey Berries, we had missed this when we were in the US, then one year in Chennai, we got this, but now again in Bangalore, I am not able to find them. So whenever we go to Chennai, if we can find them, we usually bring some back. This time I had so much of these ( freshly plucked ), even after giving some to my friend and doing the Kuzhambu with it, I had some left. I wanted to do a pickle with it, something similar to the pickle made with kovakkai/tindora. This is a simple recipe, once done, we can have it after 5 to 6 hours, but I felt, that it tasted even better after I left it in the refrigerator for at least 2 to 3 days, it gives some time for the sundakkai to soak in the spice powders..

Narthangai ( Citron ) Pachadi

          Narthangai/Citron Pachadi, this is my mother-in-law's recipe, the first time I tasted it, I simply loved it, and I wanted to try it out myself. Couple of months back, I got half a dozen of these citrons and I couldn't wait to make this pachadi. The recipe is very simple, but peeling and taking the inner part of the narthangai is the time consuming part. I peeled and made everything ready the previous night and made the pachadi the next morning. This pachadi can be had, mixed with some white rice or as a side with some curd rice, do try this, the next time you get narthangai..

Tomato Thokku ( Pickle ) - 3

          My family loves tomatoes, tomato chutney, tomato rice, tomato pickle/thokku, tomato dosa everything is a favorite at home. So, when I come across a new recipe with tomatoes, I always try it out. I have already posted two varieties of tomato thokku/pickle, today's recipe was given to me by a friend. I have used a little tamarind along with the tomatoes in this thokku, this one goes very well with idlis, dosas, adais, or even mixed with some rice..

Tomato Pickle, Thakkali Oorugai

          Happy Halloween ! this time of the year always makes me nostalgic, I had landed in the US (New York ), years ago, during this time, in the month of October. Driving from New York, after gaping at the multi-laned highways and reaching Philadelphia, the next thing to catch my eye was these skeletons and other scary stuff, outside people's homes. Well, at that time I didn't know anything about Halloween, and I couldn't understand, why people would want to decorate their homes with these scary and sometimes gory things. But then now, after so many years, after all those Halloween costumes my daughter had worn, starting from pre-school, now she's 14, she's going to celebrate Halloween with a couple of friends here in India, I think back about the time in the US ( missing it ), and those memories make my eyes water. Well, now, wiping those tears and coming back to today' dish, Tomato Pickle, the recipe has nothing to do with Halloween, I made this to go with the Paneer Parathas that I have already posted. I didn't want to have the regular pickle with it, made this thokku or pickle with tomatoes and I tweaked the seasoning a little so that it had a more North Indian flavor in it. The pickle came out very good and tasted excellent along with parathas, next time you make parathas, do try this simple and flavorful Tomato Pickle..

Naranga Curry, Kadarangai Oorugai, Wild Lemon Pickle

          Last weekend was Onam, though I couldn't prepare Onam Sadya, I wanted to make, at least a couple of dishes that are traditionally made on that day, next time I have promised myself that I'll make the complete meal with the 25 dishes. This year, I just made Parippu Pradhaman and then this Naranga Curry. Actually, while buying vegetables, my friend and I found this Kadarangai/Wild Lemon and we both sere getting it, when, another person in the shop mentioned to us that this curry is made as one of the Sadya dishes. So then, after coming home and going through a couple of recipes, I made it, Naranga Curry is nothing but an instant pickle made with wild lemon. It hardly takes 30 minutes to make, it has a nice sour and sweet taste and as all pickles goes very well thayir saadam/ curd rice, do try this if you can find this wild lemon..

Spicy And Tangy Methi / Fenugreek Leaves - Vendiya Keerai Thokku

          I am a big fan of Fenugreek Leaves/Methi/Vendiya Keerai, love its slight bitter taste and awesome flavor. Whenever I get them, even if I don't use them up immediately, I clean, wash, chop and store them in the freezer, it keeps well for at least 2 weeks. It tastes great in sambars, dals, curries and especially pairs very well with potatoes and paneer. I also make this Thokku with it, the bitterness of the leaves is balanced with the tangy tomatoes and the spicy chilly powder. Can have this as a side dish for rotis, mix it with rice or even as a sandwich spread, tastes simply divine..

Thakkali Thokku/Tomato Pickle/Spread

          I always have some kind of thokku/pickle at home which comes in handy, when you don't have time to make chutneys or other side dishes. Of all the thokkus, the house favorite is the Thakkali Thokku, we use it as a spread on bread, mix it with rice or as a side dish for our idlis, dosas and rotis. Though you get a lot of ready made ones, I always prefer home made, the main reason being you can make it less oily and less salty.   Everybody has their own version, this is the way I make it..

Coriander And Ginger Thokku

          When I leave for vacation to India and the husband stays back, I make couple of thokkus, to make things a little easy for him while I am gone. Even, otherwise I like to have some kind of thokku in the refrigerator, be it the tomato thokku or this coriander thokku, serves as a spread on bread, rotis or can be mixed with rice. My daughter loves them, she can have them with almost anything. Adding ginger to coriander makes it even better..

Brinjal Garlic Thokku

          Long time back,I had tasted homemade brinjal pickle at a friend's place, until then I didn't know that brinjals can be used for making pickles, it was very good, would try to get the recipe from her someday. Today, when I was wondering what to make with brinjal and garlic, for sending it to the Dish it Out-Brinjal n Garlic event hosted by Sangee, this thokku idea popped out. This is a very simple thokku, made with very few ingredients and the process is easy too..