Okra Stirfry (Ladies Finger/Bhindi Stirfry)

I got this very simple and delicious recipe from my mother-in-law.

Ingredients:

Okra/Bhindi - 250 gms
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Asofoetida - a pinch
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and clean the okra. Chop off the ends and slice them in medium thickness.
Heat oil in a wok. Add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Add urad dal, asofoetida, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Add the sliced okra to this and stirfry so that the oil and powders coat all over. Sprinkle salt and continue stir frying for about 10 mins. Okra will start to shrink in size and get a cooked green colour. Serve as a side dish with rice.

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Olan

Ingredients:

Ash gourd - 2 cups, cubed
Red beans - 1 cup - soaked overnight and cooked with salt
Coconut milk - 1 cup (preferably fresh, not canned)
Green chillies - 3 - 4, slit in half
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Method:

Cook red beans with some salt and keep aside.
Cook ash gourd with very small amount of water and salt, covered on medium heat.
Once half cooked, add the red beans and cook uncovered until almost all water has evaporated.
Add coconut milk, leaves and cumin powder. Continue heating until it just starts to boil. Stop the heat and take it off the stove.
Heat coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds.
Add the oil into the olan. Serve with rice.

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Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

Another recipe I made last Christmas and again this year. This was served as a side to my main course of herb marinated lamb rack.

Ingredients:

4 cups cubed Yukon Gold potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Place the cubed potatoes into a baking dish. (The cubes of potatoes should be about 3/4 of an inch on all sides) You can spray the baking dish with a baking spray too to eliminate anything possibly sticking
Pile on the olive oil, garlic salt, salt, paprika, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Using your fingers, or a spoon if you feel inclined, get in to the potatoes and carefully mix everything around until the seasonings coat each potato.
Transfer the baking dish into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss the potatoes with a pair of tongs. Put the baking dish back into the oven and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove the baking sheet and give them another toss and place them back in the oven and roast until they are golden and crispy.
Season with an little dusting of sea salt and extra parmesan cheese and serve.

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Egg and Vegetable Stew (with variations for chicken, beef or lamb)

This stew is a traditional Syrian Christian curry served for breakfast with Appam (lacy rice pancakes). I like to have it any time of the day with toasted bread, if there's no ready batter for appams. It's very rustic and hearty, like the filling of a pot pie. (Maybe I will try it in a pot pie someday).

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

Eggs - 4 large
Onion - 1 medium size, chopped
Ginger - 1 inch, minced
Green chillies - 3 or as per your spice level
Chopped Vegetables - 2 cups (preferably potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, french beans, green peas)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon sticks - 1 large broken to small pieces
Cloves - 4-6
Green cardamom pods - 4
Bay leaf - 1
Curry leaves - 1 sprig (optional)
Black pepper corns - 6-8
White pepper powder - 2 tsp (optional)
Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Red chilli powder - a pinch (optional)
Coriander powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Garam masala - a pinch (optional)
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Oil (vegetable/canola) - 2 tbsp (For authenticity, use coconut oil - its an acquired taste)

Method:

Hard boil the eggs and keep aside to cool. Meanwhile chop all the vegetables and store in a mixing bowl.
In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Add mustards seeds and let is splutter. Add the whole spices - cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, peppercorns. Once their aroma starts to exude, add the chopped onions, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute until the onions are translucent. Then add the powdered spices - turmeric, white pepper, black pepper, red chilli powder, coriander powder. Mix for a minute. Then add the chopped vegetables and enough water to just cover the vegetables. Cover and cook until the vegetables are cooked through. Meanwhile peel the cooled eggs and halve them, if desired. Once vegetables are cooked, reduce the heat, and pour coconut milk. Let it cook and reduce until you get the desired consistency of gravy. Finally sprinkle garam masala and add the hardboiled eggs. Serve with appams, chappathis or toasted slices of bread.

Note: You can make different variations of this stew. Leave the eggs out and it becomes a vegetable stew. Add cubed chicken pieces instead of the vegetables and it becomes a chicken stew. For beef or lamb stew, cook the meat separately with a small amount of water or even pressure cook it, before adding it to the stew.
If you don't have coconut milk, use regular milk.

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Gobhi Manchurian - Cauliflower Manchurian

This is an Indo-Chinese recipe, that's very popular all across India. Cauliflower is known as Gobhi in Hindi.
I heard a funny story about a pure vegetarian software engineer in India, who was sent to China on an assignment. Being vegetarian, your options are pretty much limited in China. This guy confidently accepted the assignment, thinking that he can order Gobhi Manchurian and survive. To his horror, there is no such thing as Gobhi Manchurian or Gobhi Anything in China! This is a vegetarian dish using common Chinese ingredients and techniques, but only found in India. ;-)

Ingredients:

Cauliflower - 1 medium
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Corn Starch - 1/4 cup
Soy Sauce - 5 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Pepper - 1 tsp
Yellow onion - 1 medium, minced
Garlic cloves - 3, minced
Freshly grated ginger - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Rice vinegar - 2 tsp
Siracha sauce or Sambal Olek - 1 tbsp
Maggi Hot and Sweet Tomato sauce - 1/4 cup (substitute: 1/2 cup tomato puree)
Apricot Jam - 2 tbsp (Substitute: 1 tsp sugar)
Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp, plus more for frying
Green Onion (spring onion) - 1 stalk, minced

Method:

Wash cauliflower florets. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange the cauliflower on an oiled baking sheet, season with salt and pepper to taste, and roast until just tender, turning once, 12 to 15 minutes total. Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the coriander, 1/2 teaspoon of the red chilli powder, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce and the water and mix well to make a batter. Add another tablespoon or so of water if the batter is too thick.
In a large skillet, heat a thin layer of oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, dip the cauliflower in the batter, then arrange in the hot skillet. Fry until golden brown, turning once, 4 to 5 minutes total. Optionally, you can also deep fry it. Transfer the cooked cauliflower to the baking sheet and return to the oven to keep warm.
Heat the 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, 1/4 teaspoon salt, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon coriander, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder, and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the 1 tbsp apricot jam, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tsp rice vinegar, Sriracha (or Sambal Olek), Maggi hot and sweet tomato sauce (or tomato puree). Add 3 tablespoons of the Spring Onions and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened and the flavors have blended, about 5 minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup of water is the sauce is too thick. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Return the fried cauliflower to the pan and spoon on the sauce to coat, turning the cauliflower gently to coat with sauce. Serve immediately. Garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon green onions.

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Kovakkai Poriyal - Ivy Gourd Stirfry

This is the first guest post on this blog, from one of the biggest followers of my blog, my dear husband!
Now that he has started trying his hand in cooking, he surprised me one day when I came back from work, by cooking up this beautiful poriyal. I have never tasted anything like it before and it was scrumptious! He even plated it and took photos for me to post this on the blog. How sweet! Hopefully there will be more guest posts on the way.
This recipe is followed from Solai's True Chettinad kitchen blog.

Ingredients:

Ivy Gourd/Kovakkai/Tindora-1/2 kg
Big onion- 1 (cut length wise)
Garlic - 2 cloves
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Chana dal (roasted and powdered) - 2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Mix the sambar powder and salt needed with the kovakkai and keep aside for 15 minutes. Now keep the kadai (wok) in the stove. In one table spoon of oil, splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the onions and garlic, fry till golden brown. Now add the kovakkai pieces and sauté in the oil itself for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of water, mix well, close the kadai, reduce the flame and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Check in between if there is enough water in the wok. When you feel that the veg has been cooked till soft, increase the flame and let all the water content evaporate. The oil you added in the beginning will come out at this stage. Now add the Bengal gram mix kept ready and mix well. If you cook for another 2 to 3 minutes stirring continuously, the Bengal gram powder will form a coating on the kovakkai and it will get roasted well. If you don’t have Bengal gram powder, paruppu podi (toor dal powder) can be used.

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Vendakka Pachadi - Stir fried Okra in yoghurt sauce

Okra is a vegetable that I would steer clear of as a child. My dad used to say that his mother would prepare okra curry like beef curry during the lent season. And nobody would miss eating meat, coz it has a meaty texture. I never liked the slimy gooey texture, but after being married to someone who loves this vegetable, I had to prepare it to keep him happy. The okra stir fry is one of his favorites and my mother-in-law gave me the easiest recipe for it.
For a change, I tried this pachadi (South Indian gravy made with yoghurt). Its definitely healthy for you.
Okra is high in fibre and also high levels of antioxidants and vitamin A.
The key to making a good okra recipe, is to slice it in thin circles, about 1/4 inch thick, and to sauté it in a wide pan so that it can spread out, stirring regularly, until most of the moisture dries up and its slime free. If the pan is overcrowded, the okra will release a lot of moisture and become a slimy mass.

Ingredients:

Okra - 2 cups, sliced
Red pearl onions - 5, sliced (can use 1/2 red onion as substitute)
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Green chilli - 2 (or to taste)
Turmeric - a pinch (optional)
Oil - 1 tbsp
Plain yoghurt - 1 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Method:

Whisk yoghurt with water, salt and roasted cumin seeds in a bowl, and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Sauté pearl onions and green chillies till they turn brown. Add a pinch of turmeric, if using. Now add sliced okra pieces and fry till okra is cooked to a good crisp (takes about 15 to 20 mins). When done, take it off the heat and allow it to cool.
Dunk the okra mixture into the bowl of whisked yoghurt.
Serve with steamed rice.

Inspiration from Edible Garden.

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Beetroot Pachadi - Beetroot in Yoghurt sauce

 

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 2 nos.
Yogurt - 1 cup
Red onion - 1/2, chopped
Ginger - 1 small piece, chopped
Green chillies - 2 or 3 chopped
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Dry red chilli - 2
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil -1 tbsp.
Salt to taste

Method:

Boil the betroots in a saucepan with water. Cook for about 15 minutes or till you are able to stick a fork into it, but is not too mushy. Take it off the heat, drain the hot water, and pour cold water in it. Once it has cooled down, grate the beetroot. Whip yoghurt in a bowl with salt and a little water.
Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds. Then add cumin seeds, dried red chilies and curry leaves. Then add onions, ginger and green chilies and saute for about 4-5 minutes till the onions soften. Add grated beetroot and saute for a minute or two, Turn off the heat and allow to cool down. Add it to the whipped yogurt and mix.

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Achinga Payar Thoran - Yard long beans stir-fry with coconut

 

Ingredients:

Achinga payaru/Pacha Payaru/ Yard long beans - 1 bunch
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Shallots - 3 or 4 or half of a small onion, chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped
Green chili chopped - 2
Dried red chili - 2
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Salt

Method:

Clean and chop the beans finely in very small circles.
Heat oil in a pan and add Mustard seeds.When they pop up add dried red chilies and curry leaves.
Add shallots/onions, garlic and green chilies.
After 5 minutes, add chopped beans and salt and mix well.
Sprinkle 3 table spoons of water , keep everything to the centre and cook it covered for 4-5 minutes or till it is dry and the beans are cooked.
Add coconut mixture and toss well. Saute for a couple of minutes or till it is dry and done.
Serve warm with rice.

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Chena Mezhukkupuratti - Stir fried Elephant Yam

Chena Mezhukkupuratti is a very tasty mezhukkupuratti which is easy to prepare and can be served with rice.

Ingredients:

Chena (Elephant Yam) : 1/4 kg
Shallots  - 10 no
Green Chillies - 2 nos (Cut legth wise at the bottom only)
Coconut Oil - 4 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as required

Method:

Cut the yam into cube pieces. Slice the onions thin.

Cook chena with salt, turmeric powder and chilly powder (Do not overcook, as mezhukkupuratti will not come out well with mashed chena. I learnt this the hard way. Also cutting them into very small pieces can also lead to mashing up).

Pour oil into a hard bottomed pan and add green chilly and Onion slices.

When the onion turns golden brown, add the cooked vegetable.

Fry for some time until all the water disappears and the mezhukkupuratti appears dry.

Mezhukkupuratti is ready to be served with Rice.

An earlier one I prepared in India:

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Potato Thoran - Potato stir-fried with coconut

2nd January 2012
Happy New Year!
Just got back from the place where I grew up - Riyadh. Its probably the last time I would visit this country, so feeling a bit sad and homesick.
I made sure I jotted down most of the recipes of what my mom cooked during my stay :)
Will post em when I make it on my own and take a picture of it.
Had an annoying journey back, with a 5 hour long wait in Mumbai.
Reached home and a serious jet lag set in. So I just logged in to work from home and set my status as 'Away. Call if urgent' and went to sleep.
Woke up 4 hours later but still feeling tired. I had brought some of my mom's fried prawns and beef cutlets. So dinner was almost set. I cooked some rice, made some kerala dal and wanted a thoran too. As there was no vegetable available in the fridge, I saw a few potatoes lying in my vegetable rack. I had no idea if a potato thoran even existed. But what the hell, I just googled it and apparently it does exist lol.
So I gave it a try since its really no effort if you have some grated coconut lying around in the freezer.

Ingredients:

Potato - 1 large
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Shallots - 2-3
Garliic - 1 large clove
Green chillies - 2-3
Mustard seeds
Turmeric powder
Curry Leaves

Method:

Peel potato and cut into long thin slices. Put in a bowl of water to avoid discoloration.
Chop shallots, green chillies and mince garlic.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to splutter. Add shallots, green chillies and garlic. Stir for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.
Add potatoes and mix. Then add grated coconut, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Stir, and bring everything to center of the pan. Pour about 2-3 tablespoons of water into the pan, cover and allow to cook for about 5-8 minutes. Wait till water almost dries up and mix again. Serve with rice.

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Aviyal - Mixed Vegetables in a Coconut and Yoghurt gravy

Credit: Kairali Sisters' e-book pg.20

These precautions you must follow in preparing Aviyal:

1. All vegetables are cut only lengthwise (2inch by 1/2inch)

2. Do not overcook or you'll end up in a soup.

3. The following vegetables are never used:

· Beetroot - as it discolours the entire Aviyal as red

· Tomato, Cabbage and Ladies Finger(Okra) makes Aviyal watery

· Sweet Potato, Radish, Turnip, Cauliflower & Mushroom are best avoided

· Instead of Tamarind use Raw Mango & a splash of Natural Yoghurt to get the

sour taste

4. Depending upon availability the following Vegetables go well together:

1. Plantain(Raw Green)
2. Yam - Chena
3. Brinjal
4. Carrot
5. Beans - Long Runner Beans
6. Drumsticks(with proper Indian/Sadhya Vegetables)
7. Green Raw Mango
8. Potato
9. Snake Gourd -Trichosanthes Cucumerina
10. Ivy Gourd - Kovakai - Tindora
11. Courgette - Zucchini instead of Cucumber

Ingredients:

1. Raw Green Plantain – 50 grams

2. Brinjal - 50 grams (optional - I did not use)

3. Tindora - 50 grams (optional)

4. Yams- 50 grams

5. Carrot – 50 grams

6. Green Beans/Long String beans - 50 grams (I used french beans)

7. Courgette/Ash Gourd - 50 grams (I did not use)

8. Potato - 50 grams (optional)

9. Drumsticks - 50 grams

10. Green Chillies – 2

11. Raw Mango -1/2

12. Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp

13. Salt – to taste

14. Water - 200ml

15. Grated Coconut – 1 cup

16. Cumin Seeds – 1/2 tsp

17. Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs

18. Curd – 2 tbsp

19. Coconut Oil- 2 tbsp

Method:

Mise en Place [10 mins]

1. Cut all vegetables into 2 inch by 1/2inch pieces like French Fries. Keep them

separate.

2. Grind Coconut, Cumin seeds, Green Chillies to a fine paste. Keep aside.

Golden Touch Steps [40 mins]

1. In a deep bottomed pan, add all Vegetables, add water, Salt, Turmeric powder &

slow cook for 20 mins.

2. Now add the Coconut paste, mix well, sprinkle the Coconut oil & Curry leaves,

leave on low flame for another 10 mins, by now it will be dry & done

3. Allow to cool.

4. Mix in the Yoghurt and leave it covered.

Note:

** Place the slow cooking Vegetables at the bottom of the vessel. Eg: Drumsticks,

Carrots. Place Yam & Brinjal in the middle layer. Place the fast cooking items in the

topmost layer.

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Koottu curry - Chick peas and mixed vegetables

The Kairali sisters' e-book contains two types of koottu curry - one spicy version and the other sweet version. I actually liked ingredients from both and kind of combined it into my own version. I loved it the way it turned out. I intended to add chena(yam) into this as per the recipe, but I realized that I ran out of it by using it in the other dishes. So I replaced it with Chembu(taro) and it still tasted divine!

Ingredients:

· 1 cup Black Chickpeas, soaked in water for at least 3 hours
· ½ cup Plantain(Pachakkaya) cut into chickpea sized pieces
· ½ cup Elephant Yam(Chena)/Chembu(Taro) cut into cut into chickpea sized pieces
· 1 medium Carrot, cubed
· ½ cup grated Coconut
· 4-5 pearl Onions, skinned
· ½ tsp Turmeric powder
· 2 tsp red Chilly powder
· ¼ cup Sarkara/Jaggery
· Few Curry leaves
· Few dry Coconut chunks(Thenga kothu)
· 1 tbsp Coconut oil
· ½ tspMustard seeds
· ½ tsp Cumin seeds
· Salt as required
· 2 dried red chillies
· ½ tsp black pepper or pepper powder
· 1 tbsp Oil

Method:

1. Cook the Chickpeas with Water and Salt until soft (Use a pressure cooker to
cook fast, or soak in boiling water for at-least 8 hours).
2. In a thick bottomed vessel, cook the Plantain and Yam/Taro, Carrots with enough Water to
just cover the Vegetables.
3. Add Turmeric powder and Salt.
4. Keep the vessel covered to prevent drying out.
5. When the vegetables are soft add the cooked Chickpeas, along with some of the
Water used to cook Chickpeas.
6. Adjust Salt, ¾ tsp Turmeric powder, 2 tsp Chilly powder and ¼ cup of Jaggery.
6. In another pan slightly fry the grated Coconut, cumin, black Pepper with the pearl Onions.
Coarse grind this mixture and add to the cooked Chickpeas.
7. Mix well and let the Water evaporate. Splutter the Mustard seeds in Coconut Oil
and then add the dried Chillies and dry Coconut chunks (Thenga Kothu).
8. Pour this over the prepared Koottu curry.

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Chena Vanpayar Erissery - Cow peas and Elephant Yam in a spiced coconut gravy

Credit: Edible Garden
Note: You can also make another version with Pumpkin instead of Elephant yam which is also quite popular.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cubed elephant yam / chena
• 1 cup cow peas / vanpayar - preferable soaked for at least 2-4 hours
• Salt to taste

Grate together:

• 1/2 cup grated coconut (frozen will work but not dessicated)
• 1 tsp minced fresh garlic
• 1/4 tsp pepper powder
• A large pinch of turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp chilli powder

For tempering:

• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 dry red chillies, torn into small pieces
• A few curry leaves
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (I used normal vegetable oil)

Method:

1. Wash the vanpayar and sift out any stones that may be there. Transfer to a pan with 3 cups water and cook on a low fire until semi-soft. This will take about 20 mins or so. Add the yam to the vanpayar and cook until both turn soft and almost mushy.
2. Once the vanpayar and yam are cooked, add the grated coconut mixture and mix well, cooking on low flame until well combined and the coconut loses its raw smell - about 3-4 mins. Add salt. Mix again. Remove from fire.
3. Heat oil for tempering and add all the ingredients mentioned in the list. When the mustard seeds pop and the red chillies glisten, remove from fire and dunk into the cooked mixture. Mix well and serve hot with rice and moru curry.

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Kaalan - Plantain and Elephant Yam in a spiced Coconut-Yoghurt sauce

Credit: Pazham Pappadam Payasam e-book pg.33
 Prep. Time: 55 mins.

Ingredients:

• Yam ¼ cup, cut to chunks
• Plantain 1 small, Skin peeled off and cut to diagonal chunks
• Yoghurt 4 cups
• Turmeric powder ½ tsp
• Black Pepper powder 1 ½ tsp
• Green Chilly 2 nos
• Cumin seeds ¼ tsp
• Grated Coconut 1 cup
• Fenugreek powder a pinch, roasted
• Salt as needed
• Curry leaves
• Mustard seeds ½ tsp
• Dry red chilly 2 nos
• Oil 1 tbsp
• Ghee 1 tsp

Method:

1. Heat a wide mouth pan at medium heat and add the Yam and Plantain pieces
with a cup of water.
2. Add Turmeric powder and Pepper powder. Allow the Vegetables to cook well and
then add Salt.
3. When the liquid from Vegetables are almost dried up, add 1 tsp. Ghee and mix
well.
4. Mash the veggies gently, reduce flame to low and add the beaten Yoghurt to
this.
5. Throw in Curry leaves and stir well until Yoghurt starts to boil.
6. Meanwhile grind together Coconut, Cumin seeds and green Chilly to a fine paste
with 20ml Water.
7. When the liquid from Yoghurt is completely evaporated (4 cups Yoghurt will get
reduced to almost 2 cups), add the Coconut paste and mix well. Cook for a few
more minutes.
8. Add a pinch of Fenugreek powder and switch off the stove.
9. Heat 1 tsp Oil in another pan and splutter Mustard seeds and dry red Chilly with
some Curry leaves. Pour the tempering.

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Puli Inji / Injicurry - Ginger Jaggery sauce

I simply love this curry coz its sweet and spicy and gives a lovely kick to any boring bland dinner. If I have rice with just moru, pappadam and puli inji, I'll be happy. I also recently learned that its a good side with Chicken biryani. As the main ingredient of this dish is ginger, it helps with digestion of a heavy meal such as Onasadya or Biryani. I'll post a better picture the next time I prepare it.

Credit: Mishmash

Ingredients:

1 cup minced fresh ginger, tightly packed
3-4 Indian green chillies, finely chopped
4-5 curry leaves, finely chopped
l/2 tsp mustard seeds
l/4 tsp fenugreek seeds/ Uluva
l/4 tsp Uzhunnu parippu/urad dal/black gram
2 whole dry red chillies
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 1/2 cups water
3-4 jaggery/sarkkara cylinders, with 1 1/4 inch length and 3/4 inch width OR to taste
2-3 tsp tamarind concentrate OR to taste
l/4 tsp chilly powder
l/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Method:

• In a small deep saucepan or stone vessel, heat water, tamarind paste, melt jaggery with red chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt and bring to a boil and then keep the lid open and place a stirring utensil in it and let it simmer until it reaches half the quantity of the water. Adjust the tamarind-jaggery balance by doing a taste-test here and adding the extra bit if necessary. There should be a proper balance between tamarind and jaggery. So adjust according to your personal taste.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a shallow pan and splutter mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, urad dal and dry red chillies. Add minced ginger, green chillies and curry leaves and fry until ginger turns golden brown, in low flame. Enjoy the wonderful aroma coming off the pan at this point. Using a slotted spoon, transfer all the ingredients from the pan, including the oil (there will not be much oil left), to the saucepan where the tamarind and jaggery mixture is simmering. Once more bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low flame and let it thicken until the oil layers floats on top. At this stage, turn off the stove. It thickens more when it sits in the room temperature.
• This can be made in advance and stored in refrigerator for a long time. The oil floating acts as a preservative here. It can be served not only at Sadya but also a great condiment for Biryani.

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Parippu Curry / Kerala style dal

Credit: Sankeerthanam 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup daal
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
•  2 green chilies

To Grind:

•  1/2 to 3/4 cup grated coconut
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

 To Temper: 

• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/8 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 dry red chilli
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbs ghee (clarified butter)
• 2 to 3 shallots, chopped
• few curry leaves

Method:

Pressure cook daal up to 2 whistles adding turmeric powder, green chillies and salt. To this, add ground coconut paste. Cook for 5 more minutes adding little bit water. Heat 1 tbs ghee in a separate pan, splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds and  fennel seeds. Add  red chillies, curry leaves and shallots, fry slightly. Pour the seasoning  into the curry. Serve with rice

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Kothavarangai Poriyal - Cluster beans stir-fry

I'm not exactly familiar with cluster beans mostly because it wasnt cooked in my home. Don't know about its use in kerala but it seems to be a regular side dish in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. I bought these last weekend for a change in variety of beans as I only bought french beans. Apparently I liked this particular dish whenever I ordered meals in the popular Andhra restaurant Nandhini. I decided to give this recipe a try at home and it was definitely good!



Credit: http://www.rakskitchen.net/2009/04/cluster-beans-poriyal.html

Ingredients:

Cluster Beans,Chopped 1 1/2 cup
Moong dal/Paasi paruppu 2-3 tblsp
Sambhar powder/red chilli powder 1 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/8 tsp
Coconut gratings 1/4 cup
Onion 1 no.
Salt As needed

To Temper:
Mustard 1 tsp
Urad dal/ulutham paruppu 1 tsp
Curry leaves  A sprig
Oil 1 tsp

Method:

1.Remove the head and tail of cluster beans,wash them and chop them finely as shown in the picture.
2.Boil the cluster beans in water,along with moong dhal,turmeric,salt,sambhar/red chilli powder.
3.Cook till done,moong dal should be just done,not too soft....by that time moong dhal gets cooked,cluster beans too should have got cooked just right.
4.Drain the water and keep aside.
5.Heat kadai and temper with the tempering items,followed by onion and fry till onion turns transparent.
6.Add the cooked cluster beans,moong dal and fry for two minutes in medium flame till moisture gets absorbed. .
7.Add the grated coconut and stir well for a minute.
8.Transfer to the serving dish! Serve as accompaniment for rice.

This tastes great when mixed with ghee and hot rice. Thats how I ate it in Nandhini too. Add a fried pappad and you're good to go.

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Chana Masala

This recipe was given to me by a colleague at work on our way back home in the cab while wondering what to do with my leftover soaked chickpeas (from the hommous and falafel I made the other day).
Its very simple to prepare and oh so tasty!

Ingredients:

Chana/chickpeas - 1 cup soaked in water overnight for 10-12 hrs.
Onion - 1 medium / Shallots - 5 or 6
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Tomato - 1 large
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Water - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped
Lime juice - from half a lime
Coconut milk - 2 tbsp (optional)
Salt
Oil - 1 tbsp

For tempering:
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

In a pressure cooking vessel, heat oil and add chopped onions. Saute till its turning golden. Add ginger garlic paste and chopped tomatoes. Fry till the oil starts to separate. Add the powders and fry till the raw smell goes. Add salt and chickpeas. Combine well for about 2 minutes. Add water till the same level of the chickpeas and pressure cook to about 5 or 6 whistles. Cool and open. Add coriander leaves and lime juice. Mix well. If you think that the gravy is not thick enough, add coconut milk and mix well.
In a pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and fry. Add this tempering to the chana masala and mix well. Serve with chappathis or buttered bread toast.

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Pavakka Fry - Fried Bitter Gourd

This is a recipe I found from somewhere but now can't find the source. Since I remember it, as it is so easy, I'm just writing it down here.

Ingredients:

1. Pavakka (Bitter-gourd) - 2
2. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
3. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
4. Salt to taste
5. Oil for frying

Method:

Wash bitter gourd well and cut them into medium thick slices. Put them in a bowl and add sprinkle salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder over them. Mix them by hand to coat all over the pavakka pieces. Leave it to marinate for about half an hour to 1 hour.
Heat oil in a pan and once the oil is hot, put in the pavakka pieces and saute until cooked to your taste. More you cook, lesser the bitterness, more the crispiness but lesser the nutrients. :)
Good accompaniment with rice.

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