Avarakkai Kootu and Thakali Thayir Pachadi

Hope you all had a great Diwali. For us this year, for 2 reasons it was a very sober occasion without any spark. Yeah, first we could not light crackers here, as we do in India. Even if we could have celebrated, we shouldn't have, because of a condolence in the family, that being the second reason! So, Diwali went by without any event, though we had a nice dinner party in a friend's place.

Coming to our dish for today, post-festival always calls for simple, comfort food to ease the tummies that were loaded with all types of sweets and savories. So, I made this simple Avarakkai kootu, with a pachadi to complement it. I have added a bit more Dal than I usually do, because V likes it that way. And tomato raitha is the best combination for this kootu. I suggest serving this combo with rice, a spoon of dal mixed with the rice and a dollop of ghee!

Avarakkai KootuBroad beans cooked in coconut gravy, simmered with Dal
Serves 2

What we need:Avarakkai/Broad beans - 200 g
Toor Dal/Moon dal - 1 cup
Grated Coconut - 4 tbsp.
Red Chilli - 2 or 3
Cumin (Jeera) - 1 tbsp.
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - as needed
Water - as needed

For tempering:Coconut oil - 1 tbsp.
Mustard - 1 tsp.
Split Urad dal - 1 tsp.
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - a sprig

How to do:1. Wash and cook the dal with a pinch of turmeric powder. Mash well and set aside.
2. In a vessel, take the chopped avarakkai and add enough water to cover it. Add a pinch of salt, cover and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, grind together coconut, cumin and red chillies with little water into a paste.
4. When avarakkai is cooked, add the ground paste, salt and reduce the flame.
5. In about 3 or 4 minutes, the raw smell of coconut and red chillies will start to leave. Then add the mashed dal, bring to a boil and remove from the flame.
6. In a seasoning wok, heat a tbsp. of oil, add mustard, followed by split urad dal, asafoetida and curry leaves. Add this to the kootu.

Variations:1. Both toor dal and moong dal will taste good for this kootu. For a change, you can also try adding half of each dal.
2. Replace red chillies with green chillies for an enhanced taste and flavor.
3. To save time, you can also pressure-cook the avarakkai.

Thakali Thayir PachadiTomato Yoghurt Raitha

What we need:Ripe tomato, medium sized - 1
Salt - as needed
Yoghurt - 1 cup

For tempering:Oil - a tsp.
Mustard - a tsp.
Cumin - a tsp.
Split urad dal - a tsp.

How to do:1. Chop the tomatoes fine and de-seed it. Add it to the yoghurt along with some salt.
2. Heat oil and add the ingredients for tempering. When they are done, add it to the yoghurt and mix well.

Serve togther with kootu and rice!

My dear friend, Sanghi has passed this lovely award to me. Thanks buddy, you made my day!

The rules of the award are:

* You must thank the person who has given you the award.
* Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
* Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
* Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
* Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.
* Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
* Leave a comment in the nominated blogs to let them know they have been nominated

By now, most of you would have been tagged for this award! I would like to nominate Sandhya, Jeyashri, Ambika, Kanchan, Saraswathy of Taste of Sara's Kitchen. Please accept it dearies!

Now to the 7 things about me that may (or may not!) interest you!

1. I am a very friendly person and a non-stop chatter box. It is sometimes hard to put up with my rants and raves! ;)
2. Photography, Mehndi designing are my passions, next to cooking.
3. The best thing that has happened to me till date is my darling hubby! Touchwood! :)
4. My parents are my best friends. Being the only daughter doesn't mean I am a spoilt brat, but I have all the love of my parents for myself.
5. My passion for cooking has developed only recently; precisely after I became a full-time homemaker. Until then, I loved to eat but never ventured anything other than sambar, rasam and poriyal.
6. Books give me the best company. I love to read as much as I can. Sidney Sheldon and Dan Brown are my favorite writers.
7. I am a freaky Shop-oholic! Love to shop till drop! I am trying hard to curb this obsession. :D
So if you have reached till here, thanks for bearing my lengthy post. Happy Cooking and happy blogging!!