Mulli Paratha/ Mullangi paratha

This is an easy dish. Mulli is fibrous & good for health too.

We need

Mulli - 1 well grated

Green chillies - 4 Finely Chopped

Ginger - finely grated

Chilli Powder

Salt

Wheat flour

Water

Oil/ ghee

Take the grated mulli, add the green chillies, ginger & salt to it. Set it aside in an air tight box for 2 hours. (It doesn;t smell great if we keep it open). Then Squeeze the liquid out of the mulli. Make small balls of the mulli and keep it aside.

The water extracted from the mulli can be used to make the dough with the wheat flour. Or it can be made with normal water. Remember to add a little chilli powder & salt to the dough.

Now make small balls of the dough. Lay it & make a small chapatti. keep a little ball of the mulli in it. Pack it into a small stuffed ball & then roll it again with the rolling pin. Don't be too hard. Make it softly. In a skillet that is heated up a bit & toss the paratha. When done on one side, turn it on the other to get both the sides cooked well. Take it out and then add some ghee/oil on both the sides. It is served with curd (with a pinch of chaat masala, chilli powder & salt) and some pickle.

Puliorai / Pulihora / Puli sadam/ Tamarind rice

My anytime favourite.

Things we need

Tamarind / Tamarind extract - about 10 table spoons

Corriander seeds - 2 spoons

Methi/fenugreek seeds - 1/2 spoon

Red chilli 12

Asafoetida
Salt

Water

Oil

For seasoning

Oil

Mustard Seeds

Red chilli 2/4

Urad Dal

Channa dal

Peanuts

Curry leaves

Turmeric - 1/2 spoon

Cashew nuts

First we have to make the paste (Pulikaichal).

Take the tamarind add 1 1/2 glass of water and the necessary salt to it. Do not add a lot of salt, as the water would evaporate. In a thick bottom vessel or a kadai, take a little oil. When it is hot, add the methi seeds, 12 red chillies & corriander seeds roast them. When done, put it aside & allow it cool. When cool, grind them into a powder.

Then in the kadai, take 2 spoons of oil, when hot add the mustard seeds & let them sputter. Then add 2/3 Urad dal, Channa dal, Peanuts. When they are golden brown, add the tamarind mix. Then allow it to boil till the paste solidifies to half of the quantity.

Tip: When the tamarind boils, it would spill all over the gas. So use a lid to cover it.

Now the paste is ready. Cook 2 cups of rice. Allow it cool. This makes the rice non sticky. Add a little oil. Then in a kadai, add some oil, when hot add a little mustard seeds & allow it to sputter, then some turmeric. Add this on top of the rice. Then some paste. Mix it well with the rice. Then taste if it needs more salt andd add accordingly. Fry the cashews in ghe & add them. Then at last garnish it with curry leaves. The aroma is good when added at alast.

Now some alternatives. Instead of adding the dals & allowing it to boil, we can actually season it along with the turmeric and add it to the rice. This keeps the lentils crisp.

Pulihorai is done. Awesome with any fried pakoda/ Masala vadai