This week has been announced as Andhra Cuisine week in a Facebook food group ( ROP). So, I have a made a simple and a healthy Andhra lunch menu.
It includes Cabbage Senagapappu Vepudu ( Senagapappu means Chana dal and vepudu means fry), Majjiga Chaaru ( Majjiga means yogurt in Telugu and Chaaru means rasam) and Allam pachadi ( Allam means ginger and pachadi means chutney), fresh mango pickle, rice, yogurt and peanut balls:)
I followed the recipe from sailusfood.com for the vegetable and Mrs Mallika Badhrinath’s recipe for the chaaru and pachadi with slight variations.
All the recipes came out very well. It is simple to make and very tasty and light on the stomach. Along with learning these new recipes, learnt a few words in Telugu too:)
Cabbage Senagapappu vepudu
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Ingredients
Chopped cabbage – 4 heaped cups
Chana dal ( Bengal gram/ kadala paruppu)- 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder- 1/4th tsp
Salt to taste
Oil – 2 tsps
Mustard – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – few
Hing ( asafoetida/ perungayam) – 2 pinches
To grind
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Grated coconut – 1/2 cup
Green chillies – 2
Chopped coriander leaves – 2 tbsps
Ginger – 1/2 inch
Methods
Wash and soak chana dal for 30 mins. Drain and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add curry leaves and hing.
Sauté for few seconds and then add chopped cabbage, soaked chana dal, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well and add 1/2 cup of water.
Close the pan with a lid, reduce the flame and cook till the cabbage and chana dal becomes soft and dry.
Grind coconut, green chillies, coriander leaves and ginger coarsely and add it to the cooked cabbage. Mix well and check for the seasonings. Cook for 2-3 mins and take it off the gas.
Serve it with rice and rasam ( chaaru )/ sambar/ dal 🙂
Majjiga Chaaru
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Ingredients
Sour yogurt – 1 cup
Water – 2+1/2 cups
Green chillies – 2
Chopped coriander leaves – 2 tbsps
Chopped curry leaves – 1 tbsp
Ginger – 1/2 inch
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Hing ( asafoetida/ perungayam) – 1/4th tsp
Salt to taste
For tempering
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Ghee – 1 tsp
Mustard – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds ( jeera) – 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds( methi/ vendhyam) – 1/4th tsp
Method
Wash and finely chop green chillies and ginger.
Beat the yogurt well till there are no lumps.
Add 2 and a half cups of water and mix well.
To this add hing,turmeric powder,salt to taste, chopped green chillies, ginger, coriander leaves and curry leaves and mix well. Let it just simmer. It will only take few mins. Do not let it boil.
Take it off the gas.
Heat ghee in a pan. Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. Sauté for few seconds and add the tempering to the chaaru.
Let it rest for few mins. Serve the chaaru hot with rice and any vegetable:)
Allam pachadi
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Ingredients
Chopped ginger – 3 tbsps
Grated coconut – 4 tbsps
Tamarind – small gooseberry sized
Jaggery – 1+1/2 tsps
Oil – 1/2 tsp
To roast
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Oil – 1 tsp
Red chillies – 7-8
Chana dal ( Bengal gram/ kadala paruppu) – 2 tbsps
Urad dal – 1 tbsp
Method
Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped ginger and sauté it for few mins. Remove and let it cool.
Add little more oil in the pan. Add chana dal, urad dal and red chillies. Sauté till the dals turn golden. Take it off the gas and cool it.
Grind the ginger, roasted dals and red chillies, coconut, tamarind, jaggery and salt together to a coarse chutney.
Serve it with rice/ roti/ idli/ dosa:)
