Ginger & Green Chilly Paste

Ingredients:

• 100 gms. ginger, peeled
• 100 gms. Green chilies 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. oil

Method:

• Clean and cut chilies.
• Clean, peel and cut ginger.
• Heat oil, add Ginger and chilies, just fry for 2 min. cover and shut off flame.
• Allow temperature to come down to warm.
• Use a small wet grinder, but do not use water.
• Store in clean airtight glass bottle.
• Use as required.

Ginger & Garlic Paste

Ingredients:

• 100 gms. garlic, peeled
• 100 gms. ginger, peeled
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. oil

Method:

• Heat oil, add Garlic and Ginger, just fry for 2 min. cover and shut off flame.
• Allow temperature to come down to warm.
• If you want to fry them; you can do like that. Actually frying is best.
• Use a small wet grinder, but do not use water.
• Store in clean airtight glass bottle.

Chilly & Garlic Paste

Ingredients:

• 100 gms. Garlic, peeled
• 100 gms. Chilies (fresh red or green as per your wish)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. oil

Method:

• Heat oil, add garlic and chilies, fry for just 2 min. and then cover and shut off flame.
• Allow temperature to come down to warm.
• Use a small wet grinder, but do not use water.
• Store in clean airtight glass bottle.
• Use it when ever require.

Garlic Paste

Ingredients:

• 250 gms. Garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. oil

Method:

• Clean, peel and grind Garlic and salt to a fine paste.
• Use minimum or no water.
• Heat oil, add Garlic paste; stir for a while.
• Let the oil separate from the mixture.
• Take off fire.
• Cool and bottle in airtight jar.
• Use as required.

Ghee

Ingredients:

• Butter

Method:

• 2 cups butter (either homemade or salt less commercial)
• Take butter in a large deep vessel.
• Stir and heat on high till it comes to a boil.
• Keep stirring till it stops rising to the top.
• Then simmer and stir occasionally.
• Cook till a solid residue separates from the formed ghee.
• The ghee should look a light yellow and give out an aroma.
• Store in clean dry jar.
• No need to refrigerate.

Ginger Paste

Ingredients:

• 250 gms. Ginger
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. oil

Method:

• Clean, peel and grind Ginger and salt to a fine paste.
• Use minimum or no water.
• Heat oil, add Ginger paste; stir for a while.
• Let the oil separate from the mixture.
• Take off fire.
• Cool and bottle in airtight jar.
• Use as required.

Green Chilly Paste

Ingredients:

• 250 gms. fresh green hot chilies
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1 pinch asafetida
• 1 tsp. salt

Method:

• Wash and cut chilies.
• Heat oil in a frying pan.
• Add chilies, asafetida, salt.
• Stir and cover, remove from fire.
• Keep covered for 3-4 minutes.
• Grind in small electric grinder, to form a paste.
• Do not add water.
• Store in clean jar, refrigerate.
• Use as required.

Notes:

• If you want Red Chilly paste replace Green Chilies, and do the same.

Chunky Peanut Butter

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1 tbsp. peanut oil

Method:

• Take about 1/4 cup out of your 1 1/2 cups of peanuts and set them aside.
• Mix the rest of the peanuts with the oil, and pour the mixture into the food processor.
• Process the mixture until its very smooth, then stir in the peanuts that you had set aside.
• Process a few seconds more to create the chunks in your chunky peanut butter.
• Store your chunky peanut butter in a sealed container in the fridge.
• It will be good for 2 weeks.
• Generally children like this Chunky Peanut Butter

Notes:

• You can use corn or sunflower oil instead of peanut oil.

Smooth Peanut Butter

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1 tbsp. peanut oil

Method:

• Mix the peanuts with the peanut oil, and pour the mixture into the food processor.
• Process the mixture until its very smooth.
• Store your smooth peanut butter in a sealed container in the fridge.
• It will be good for 2 weeks.
• Enjoy Bread with Peanut Butter.

Tamarind Paste for Easy Cooking

Ingredients:

• Tamarind
• Fenugreek Seeds
• Asafetida
• Mustard Seeds
• Turmeric Powder
• Salt
• Oil

Method:

• We South Indians, prepare sambar or rasam almost daily. For that we have to soak tamarind in hot water and extract water from that to make sambar or rasam. One day that water becomes more and another less in puli taste. To avoid that and to save time, do the following.
• Take 1/4kg tamarind and soak it in hotwater for ½ to one hour.
• Then put a big pan and heat it.
• Add 150 to 200 gms. of Sesame oil. Make tempering with mustard seeds, turmeric powder and asafetida powder.
• Let the mustard seeds burst.
• Now add the extracted tamarind water in the pan. Add a little salt.
• Stir rarely and allow it to become like a paste. (Oil must come out of the paste. That is the correct indication that you prepared the paste correctly.)
• Dry fry 2 table spoon Fenugreek, in another pan and powder it.
• Add the fenugreek powder in the Tamarind Paste.
• Mix well and remove it from the fire.
• Keep aside for more than 2 hours.
• Now put it in a glass bottle and close it and keep it in the fridge. When ever you need to prepare sambar, rasam, puliyodarai, puli kootu or any puli based items, you can use this paste instantly.

Notes:

• If you have Preeti mixer grinder, take the JUICE EXTRACTER and take juice out of the soaked tamarind. Let it be as thick as possible.
• Other wise as usual do it by hand.
• For vathal kuzhmbu or sambar for 4 persons, prepare as usual and after tempering, add 2 cups of plain water and add this tamarind paste. 2 spoons will be ok for your sambar.
• If you want more puli, at any time you can add the paste as per your taste.
• That is the Best advantage of this Tamarind paste.

Images:

Pulikaichal

Ingredients:

• 1 big lemon size Tamarind / 2 to 3 tea spoons of Tamarind paste.
• 1 tab sp channa dal
• 1 tab sp udad dal
• 1 tab sp thur dal
• 1 tea sp mustard seeds
• 12 - 15 red chilly
• 1/2 sp asefetida powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 -4 tab. sp gingelly oil
• 2 tab sp ground nuts
• 2 tab sp cashew nuts crushed (optional)
• curry leaves

Method:

• Take thick water out of Tamarind by soaking it.
• Or use Tamarind paste.
• In a deep pan pour oil and make seasoning, with mustard and all other ingredients.
• Now add the thick tamarind water and salt to it.
• Keep the flame low and allow it to boil for more than 10 min.
• Stir it now and then.
• Allow it to become thick.
• Remove from the fire and allow it to cool.
• After it comes to room temp. you can store it in a bottle.
• You can keep this as it is for more than 10 days and if you keep it in the fridge, you can keep it for a month.
• When ever you need puliyodhara mix this with hot rice and serve.
• Enjoy this dish with fried vathal or applam or with avial.

Makkhan (Butter)

Ingredients:

• cream (malai)

Method:

• Put the above cream in a mixie, add the juice of a whole lemon, whip.
• When a smooth lump is formed, add some chilled water.
• Whip sparingly.
• The butter will form a solid lump and water will separate.
• Drain water, take lump in a wide bowl.
• Turn with moist hands, washing with chilled water 2-3 times.
• Drain out all the excess water.
• The butter is ready to use.
• Either as is, or salted with a few pinches salt.
• Or use to flavour the recipes.

Tomato Puree

Ingredients:

• 5 ripe healthy tomatoes

Method:

• Put tomatoes in the boiling water.
• Cover, keep aside for 15 minutes.
• Remove the skin.
• Make thick paste by using a mixer grinder.
• Strain to remove seeds and skins.
• OR
• Chop and pressure cook tomatoes till soft.
• Do not add water the container holding the tomatoes.
• Cool, blend and strain.
• Refrigerate and use as required.

Shahi Paste

Ingredients:

• 2 large onions, sliced
• 10 red chilies
• 8-10 garlic flakes
• 1" piece ginger grated
• 1 tbsp. oil
• Soak the following items together for 30 minutes in 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp. khus khus
• 1 tbsp. cashews
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp. magaz (peeled watermelon seeds)

Method:

• For Soft Shahi paste just grind soaked ingredients in their water, till fine.
• For a spicy shahi paste:
• Fry onions in hot oil till tender.
• Add ginger, garlic, chilies, stir for 2 minutes.
• Take off fire, add to bland ingredients.
• Grind into smooth paste.
• Store in refrigerator or freeze in plastic freezer ware.

Basic Gravy

Ingredients:

• 1 tomato
• 1 onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1" piece ginger
• 6 - 8 dry red chilies
• One hand full - cashews
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. red chilly powder
• 1/2 tsp. dhania powder
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 3-4 pinches asafetida
• 1/4 tsp. garam masala
• 3-4 pinches cinnamon-clove powder
• salt to taste

Method:

• Grind all ingredients together except oil
• Heat oil, add paste, stir fry till oil separates.
• Remove and allow it to cool.
• Store in the freezer.
• When ever you want to make gravy dishes, remove this from the freezer.
• Frost free by using MW.
• Add 1 cup water, bring to boil, simmer till thick.
• Add already cooked veg. like peas, potato or paneer pieces, to make the dish as per your requirement.
• You can make dishes as quick as possible and serve.

Onion Masala Paste ( without Coconut)

Ingredients:

• 2 large onions/ 15 - 20 small onions
• 3 green or red chilies
• 5 flakes garlic
• 1" piece ginger, chopped coarsely
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Method:

• Fry onions in hot oil till tender.
• Add all other ingredients, stir for 2 minutes
• Cool and grind to a thick paste.
• Store in refrigerator or freeze in plastic freezer ware.

Coconut Onion Masala Paste

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion sliced
• 1 small coconut shredded coarsely
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled
• 15 red chilies (if you want you can use Green too)
• 2 cloves
• 1" cinnamon stick
• 5 – 7 pepper
• 1/2 tbsp. sesame seeds
• 1/2 tbsp. khus khus
• 5-6 cashews
• 1 tbsp. oil

Method:

• Roast dry masala in a dry pan.
• When crisp, grind till coarsely crushed.
• Heat oil, fry onions till light pink and tender.
• Add all other ingredients, including crushed dry masalas.
• Stir fry for 2 minutes.
• Cool and grind with as little water as possible, to make a thick paste.
• Without using water also you can prepare this. And that will be better.
• Refrigerate, and use as required.

Hot Sweet Sour Paste

Ingredients:

• 5 – 6 sp. tamarind paste
• 15 - 20 red chilies
• 1/2 cup jaggery
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp. hot oil

Method:

• Put jaggery, tamarind paste and chilies in a small wet grinder.
• Run till contents are crushed coarsely.
• Add salt, cumin seeds, run again till smooth.
• Do not use water at all.
• Heat oil, add mustard seeds, Pour over paste, mix gently till well mixed.
• Store in sterile bottle in refrigerator till required.