Lavanya's Garnish for Poriyal

Boil the vegetable. It could be either one of the following:
green beans
cabbage
green beans + cabbage + carrot
boiled and peeled and cubed potato
broad beans
cluster beans
kovaikkai
pavaikkai
boiled and cubed valaikkai

In a mixer, dry grind the following without adding water:

green chillies
jeera
garlic
fresh coconut

In a kadai, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add urad dal and onions and curry leaves. When onions are tender, add the vegetable and the dry ground mixture and saute well. Serve with chapathis or rice.

Lavanya's Chicken curry for Idiyappam/Parotta

Ingredients:

chicken marinated in ginger garlic paste and little yogurt - 1 kg
green chillies - 5
grated coconut -1 cup loosely packed
onion - 3 meduim sized
tomato - 2 small roma tomatoes
coriander powder - 3 tsp
turmeric powder
1 big bunch of cilantro

Method:
In a kadai, heat some oil and add little sombu, 1 pattai, 1 lavangam, and few peices of kadal paasi.

Then add thinly sliced onions and 2 slit green chillies and fry till onions are translucent.

Now add tomatoes and fry till they get a little mushy.

Now add chicken and salt and coriander powder and turmeric and fry for a few minutes till the raw ginger garlic smell goes away.

Now make a fine paste of remaining green chillies and coconut and add to chicken and add enough water and cover and cook.

When almost done add the chopped cilantro and boil for 5 more minutes.

Cilantro is the highlight of the dish. You may add some lime juice too if needed.

Serve with idiyappam or parotta.

Lavanya's Mochai Upma

Ingredients:

Young tender mochai - 1 cup
dry red chillies - 4
Jeera - 2 tsp
salt
curry leaves
cilantro
rava - 1.5 cup

Method:

Boil the mochai separately and cook till tender. Save remaining water if any.

In a kadai, add oil and mustard seeds and dry red chillies and jeera and curry leaves and salt and when they start spluttering, add enough water for teh rava to cook.

When the water starts boiling add the cooked mochai and stir in the rava gently.

Make sure there are no lumps. Cover and cook. When almost done, add chopped cilantro and cook for 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Lavanya's Valaikkai(Plantain) Puttu

Ingredients:

Valaikkai - 2
Onions(shallots would taste better) - sliced
Green chillies - 2 slit lengthwise
Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
2 cloves crushed garlic
Salt
Curry leaves

Method:

Take a kadai and place the full valaikkai in it. Add water to just cover the valaikkai and close with a lid. Cook until the valaikkai has changed color outside. Do not overcook it. (Probably 15 mins after the water starts to boil). Let it cool and peel the skin off and grate it with a grater.

In another kadai, do tadka of mustard seeds, urad dal and when they start to splutter, add the curry leaves, onions and green chillies and crushed garlic. Saute for a few minutes and then add the grated valaikkai and jeera powder and salt and mix well. Serve hot with sambar sadham.