Rasam/ Tomato Rasam

Rasam/ Tomato Rasam

Rasam has something to do with common cold, flu, throat infection etc... It is amma vaidyam. Plain rasam without rasam powder is good for digestion too. Have this not only as an analgesic but also a regular item in every other day meals especially during winter.

Ingredients:

Tamarind – soaked 1 lemon size

Asafoetida powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 1tsp

Black pepper  powder – 1 tbsp

Water – as required

Salt – for taste

Oil – to fry

To grind:

Cumin seeds/ jeera – 1 tbsp

Garlic – 2-3 nos

Coriander leaves – 2-3 sprigs

Tomato – 1

To temper:

Coconut oil – 2 tbsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – a sprig

Coriander leaves – to garnish

Method:

Grind the items listed under ‘to grind’ in the order. Tomato should not ground into paste. In a bowl, add the grinded paste, pepper powder, asafoetida powder, coriander powder and salt. Squeeze the tamarind – add  the required amount. Add water and maintain the taste consistency. Heat oil in a pan – splutter mustards and curry leaves. Now add the rasam to it. Allow the rasam to boil. Swtich off the flame and garnish with  chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice.

Note :

• Well ripe tomatoes will be sour and you can reduce the tamarind paste as per your taste.
• No need to keep on boiling the rasam. You may loose the flavour.

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Pumpkin Erissery/ Mathanga Erissery/ Poosanikka Erissery

Pumpkin Erissery/ Mathanga Erissery/ Poosanikka Erissery

We started our life in the Sea of Paradise – famous for fish. But I wonder how my better half survived as a veggie. Thrilled to find even the short eats are in fish! I was sure that there must be veggies. I went to the market with my friend – with broken Dhivehi she managed to purchase veggies. I found BIG... Pumpkins... finally we convinced the seller to get a medium one. With a smirk on his face, he got us one. Immediately called amma to clarify what is missing. Remember she used to temper with grated coconut attracts everyone to the bowl. Made the erissery and it was treated with an applause. Later huby learned to say “mee pumpkin benu” to the seller for his traditional erissery.

Ingredients:

Pumpkin – 2 cup (cut into cubes)

Green gram – a handful (instead you can use soaked chick peas)

Water – to cook

Salt – for taste

Oil – to fry

To grind:

Coconut grated – 2 cups (medium)

Chilli powder – 2 tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds/ jeera – 1 tsp

Garlic – 2-3 nos

To temper:

Coconut oil – 2 tbsp

Urad dal – 1 tbsp

Coconut grated – 1 tbsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Dry red chillies – 1

Curry leaves – a sprig

Method:

Pressure cook for 2 whistles green gram/ chick peas with water and salt. Add chopped pumpkin/mathanga and pressure cook for 1 whistle. Cook well – not to mash it. Keep aside. Grind the items included in the ‘to grind’ list with ¼ cup of water. Mix the grinded mixture to the cooked mathanga/ pumpkin and heat on low flame for few minutes. Add salt if required. Heat oil in a pan and fry the urad dal – when it turns light brown add grated coconut toss well with your ladle. Now move the fried items to the sides of your pan. Add few drops of oil to crackle the mustard and red chilli with curry leaves. Mix together the fried items. Ummmm!!! You get the aroma! Wait! Pour this on the erissery. Close the erissery pot with a lid which amma says “aroma stays till the last spoon of erissery”. Enjoy your thala Onam with this erissery!

Note:

• You can use chick peas instead of green gram. This is used to increase the thickness of erissery.
• You can also make erissery with vazha kaya (raw banana), Chena (elephant yam) and papaya in the same way. For vazha kaya and chena you can reduce the amount of chick peas/ green gram. 

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Karivepila/ Curry leaf Chutney

Karivepila/ Curry leaf Chutney

Curry leaves : A vitamin rich natural food which has numerous health benefits. It is abundantly used in preparing hair oil (hibiscus oil) and also used to prepare gastritis powder at our vaidyasala. Instead of taking it as a regular medicine my Father in law prescribes to have it with daily food. Today I did this curry leaves chutney for Idli. It goes well for dosa and appam too.

Ingredients:

Onion – 3, chopped

Dry Red chillies – 2-3 nos

Garlic – 3 nos

Curry leaves – a cup

Soaked tamarind – small gooseberry size

Salt – for taste

Oil – to sauté

To temper:

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Coconut oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat oil in a sauce pan/kadai – fry chillies and garlic on low heat. Sauté chopped onion with chillies, garlic and curry leaves. Sprinkle salt on top. When the onion goes transparent remove from flame to get cooled down. Grind the mixture into a fine paste by adding required water. Add tamarind juice and salt as per your taste. In the same kadai add a tbsp of coconut oil - Temper the mustard – when it breaks add the grinded mixture. Karivepila chutney is ready for soft idilis. 

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Palkova/ Pal Peda

On this krishnashtami for my little Kanna...

Ingredients:
Milk - 4 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Ghee - a tsp

Method:

In a thick bottomed pan, heat the milk - bring to boil. Don't move away - Stay with your milk stirring or else it may spill or spoilt. Add ghee to it. When the milk gets thickened add sugar slowly. You may feel the milk getting thinner again. Keep stirring. When it gets stick to the pan switch off the stove and make different shapes of peda. Use ghee to grease your hand. Enjoy this happy birthday of Krishna.

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Cauliflower Pakoda

Cauliflower Pakoda

Festivals is not only for gods but for people who love foods and these days it’s snacks corner around. Mulaku baji..., the big... Pappadom... and then cauliflower pakoda... ummm...

Today’s evening special! the flavor rich pakoda... vanished within seconds..

Ingredients:

Kadalai mavu/Besan flour –¾ cup

Raw rice powder – ¼ cup

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Salt – for taste

Water – required to mix

Oil – for frying

Method:

Cut the cauliflower into pieces. Rinse in water and keep aside.

 Heat water in a vessel with a pinch of turmeric. When it boils – add the diced cauliflower for few minutes. This is to get rid of worms if inside. Sieve it out.

In a bowl, mix besan flour, rice flour and chili powder with salt. Sprinkle water, but maintain the consistency of water. 

Now add the sieved cauliflower – mix well. Heat oil in a kadai – Preserve the hotness, take the mixed cauliflower and drop it into the oil – fry until golden brown. 

Toss with the ladle to stir the pakoda. Remove it from the oil and drain excess oil. Serve pakoda with chilli – garlic sauce. 

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Rajma Masala/ Red Kidney beans Masala

Rajma Masala/ Red Kidney beans Masala

Batoo this is for you... bit late to try this recipe... you repeated Rajma... in it’s classification. I have tried kidney beans Thoran often, but now I surfed the typical Punjabi recipe.

It’s the hardness of nature that you need patience much! In advance, soak it overnight. The kidney beans have to be cooked well. The perfect Rajma masala is the rajma should melt in your mouth, you should not get them to bite. In restaurant my veggie tried with  naan but this goes well with rice too.

 Ingredients:

Rajma/ kidney beans – 1 cup soaked overnight

Onion – chopped

Tomatoes – 2-3 chopped

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Garlic – 4 cloves

Fenugreek powder – ½ tsp

Coriander Powder – 1 tsp

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Garam Masala powder – 1 tsp

Jeera/ cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Cream/ milk – 2-3tbsp

Coriander leaves – chopped

Salt – as required

Oil – as required

 

Method:

Soak rajma/kidney beans overnight, rinse and pressure cook with water and salt for 6-8 whistles ( you get a nice aroma of cooked rajma by 6^th whistle onwards). Keep aside. Heat oil in a kadai – add garlic and saute till it gets light brown. 

Reduce the flame - Add fenugreek powder – mix well – now add chopped onions. Sprinkle salt on it. 

Then chopped ginger/ ginger paste to it. Toss slowly – till onion gets cooked – add chopped tomatoes – then the listed powder – mix well. 

Allow the mix to cooled down – grind it in a mixer. Heat 1 tbsp of oil - Add jeera/ cumin seeds – allow to splutter. 

Pour the grinded mixture, cooked rajma and salt. Add the excess cooked water in rajma to maintain the consistency. Allow to boil. When the gravy gets thicken add milk/cream and cook for 2 mins. Switch off the flame - Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve with roti, chapati, naan and rice.

Note:

-         Instead of tomatoes you can add tomato paste

-         No need to grind if you have finely chopped onion and tomato paste.

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Parippu curry/ Moong dal curry

Parippu curry/ Moong dal curry

Sadya... whether it’s onam or vishu, pirannal or wedding nothing goes without parippu curry. It’s commonly called “parippu” which is given priority in the  order of serving. I did tasted sadya in different ethnic styles but love the ones served in thekkan travancore. Sadya at home rangs when amma makes parippu out of green gram/ cherupayar. Now we have instant parippu/ broken gram in packets. What we do is roast the dal in a dry kadai and store in container to prevent it from bugs.

The speciality in parippu is to start a huge menu of sadya with zero spicy, zero oil, mild dish which ayurveda prescribes with pure ghee. Dal is always a gastric issue for adults – remember a tsp of ghee works well. Now say bye to gastric problems and enjoy your sadya. Try this protein rich dish with rice for your busy toddler.

Ingredients:

Cherupayar parippu/ Moong Dal – ½ cup

Coconut oil – 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp

Salt – for taste

Water – as required

Curry leaves - a sprig

To grind:

Coconut grated – 2 cups (medium)

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Method:

Pressure cook moong dal for 2 whistles (mushy) with a pinch of salt and water. Drop 1 tsp of coconut oil so that dal don’t gets sticky to the bottom. Grind the items listed under ‘to grind’ with water(can use the excess water in the cooked dal) in a mixer into a smooth paste. Add the grinded mixture to the cooked dal and heat it. Add salt if required. Pour coconut oil on top with curry leaves – close the lid and heat for two minutes. Serve with a tsp of ghee and pappad for rice. 

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Vanpayar thoran / Red Kidney beans thoran

Vanpayar thoran / Red Kidney beans thoran

Kidney beans -  always an alternative option during busy schedule or lazy evenings for shopping. I usually stock the beans varieties in my kitchen. I bet you can survive with not even a single veggie if you have kidney beans and yogurt. Moru curry (yogurt curry) and vanpayar thoran makes a good combination. But should soak kidney beans in advance atleast 4 hours.

Ingredients:

Vanpayar/ Red kidney beans – soaked 1 cup

Onion – 1 chopped cube size

Salt – as required

Water – to cook

To grind:

Coconut grated – 1 cup

Garlic- 2 cloves

Cumin seeds/jeera – 1 tsp

Chilli powder – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – a pinch

To temper:

Coconut oil – as required

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – a sprig

Red chilli – 1, halved into two

Method:

Soak Kidney beans for 4-5 hours/ overnight. Pressure cook it with a pinch of salt for 3 whistles. Do not overcook. Chop onion into cubes.  Grind the items listed under ‘to grind’ in a mixer and keep aside.

Heat oil in a cheenachutty/pan on medium flame – sauté items listed under ‘to temper’ in the order given. Once the mustard splutters – add chopped onion and fry it. Now add cooked kidney beans and the ground mixture. Add the water used in pressure cooking the beans with the ground mixture. Sprinkle salt if required. Add garam masala for those who love the flavor. Close the pan with a lid for a few minutes. Once the water gets evaporated reduce the flame and dry the thoran for few minutes in medium heat.

Note:

•  Don’t add too much of water while coking kidney beans – since this is a thoran you get a dry dish.
•   Use the handle of the ladle while drying it or it will turn mushy.
• Make sure it doesn’t get overcooked.

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