SAMBARAM or LABAN DRINK or BUTTER MILK DRINK:

SAMBARAM or LABAN DRINK or BUTTER MILK DRINK: This is a very refreshing natural drink. This is one drink I am sure every Keralite would have had some time or the other. A drink that cools the body during the summer seasons and that existed even before the soft drinks came about. And a 100% healthy option. The aroma and taste it carries is truly amazing. It is salty and lightly spicy. It is seen as a must for any sadhya or the lavish South Indian thali. It is said to improve digestion.

INGREDIENTS:

Butter Milk or Moru – 1 Cup

Curry Leaves – 3 to 4 leaves

Green Chilli – ½ to 1 slit

Ginger – a very small piece

Salt

METHOD:

Add all the ingredients to the blender and mix. Pour in a glass and have. Simple, right?????????

OR

Take the butter milk in a bowl, add the sliced green chilli, ginger, salt and slightly crushed or slit curry leaves and mix well using a spoon. Serve with rice after 5 minutes or so.

RED SPINACH STIR FRY or CHEERA MEZHUKKUPURATTI

RED SPINACH STIR FRY or CHEERA MEZHUKKUPURATTI  : Red Spinach is one of the vegetables I hated as a child. My mom used to make only thoran out of it and I truly hated it. I discovered this one at my in laws place. A simple and good recipe. It tastes better than thoran though. I find this as a better option, even though thoran is a healthier option. I guess you can try it too, if you are a person who finds it hard to eat leafy vegetables. You may even try it with green Palak. Red Palak or Cheera as it is known in Kerala is more popular and available in abundance there.

The health benefits related to red spinach are plenty. Due to its high Fibre content, helps in bowel movement. Helps in boosting the Kidney Function. Good for anaemic patients as it is rich in iron.  Improves eyes sight and strengthens the hair. 

INGREDIENTS:

Red Spinach – a bunch

Dried Red chilly sliced – 2

Or

Green Chilly sliced – 2

Red Onion – 1 big

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tablespoon or less

Mustard seeds – a pinch

Urad Dhal or uzhunnu parippu or white lentil split – a pinch (optional)

METHOD:

Slice the onions, chillies, and red spinach separately. Take a pan and add oil. Splutter the mustard seeds and add Urad dal till it turns golden brown. Add chillies and sauté for few seconds. Add onions and sweat them. Add the cut spinach and salt and mix well.  Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium flame. 

Once the spinach is cooked for few minutes, you may turn off the stove. If you do not like the crunch of the leaves, then cook till it becomes really tender. It is advisable to cook till it is lightly tender and yet crunchy.

VEG STEW

VEG STEW: This is a super delicious stew and less spicy in terms of chilli. But the aroma and taste that the stew gets from the rich spices is truly enchanting. It has a mix of vegetables. It goes perfectly well with Appam, Idiyappam and Pathiri. You may even try it with chapattis or poori.

Mushrooms are optional. This is definitely a curry that is power packed with energy and vitamins. No oil is required. Indeed a treat of cholesterol patients. 

INGREDIENTS:

Carrot – 1 big

Potato – 1 big

Button Mushrooms – 5

Red Onions – 2

French Beans – 3

Or

Green Peas fresh or cooked – ¼ cup

Ginger – ½ “ piece

Green chilli – 2 to 3

Coconut Milk – ½ cup thick coconut milk

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Coriander powder – ¼ tablespoon

Garam Masala Powder – ¼ tablespoon

Pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)

Cardamom – 2 to 3

Cinnamon – ½ “ piece

Cloves – 2 to 3

Curry leaves – a sprig

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Clean and dice all the vegetables. In a heavy bottom pan, add potato, carrot and water and cook for 2 minutes. 

Add all the other vegetables like onions, ginger, French beans, mushroom and green chilli. Add salt, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, pepper powder and curry leaves and salt.

 Ensure that there is enough water. The vegetables should be covered in water.

 Once the vegetables are well cooked, add the thick coconut milk. Boil for a minute or so.

 Switch off the stove. Allow it to cool for an hour or so. Warm if necessary before serving. 

HORSE GRAM Or MUTHIRA Or GAHAT CURRY

HORSE GRAM Or MUTHIRA Or GAHAT CURRY: The word Muthira reminds me of my mother’s words – “Muthira thinal kuthira pole aakum”. All I knew then was if I eat Horse gram I will end up being strong like a horse. I did not really know that it is one of the major food given to horses or rather a cattle feed. But it tastes good. This is one of the beans which are widely used in southern parts of India. But it is lesser known in other parts of the world.

Horse Gram is known to even have medicinal properties. The seed coat has anti oxidant properties. So consume with the seed coat. It is good diet for diabetic people as it reduces the insulin resistance. And as a bean it has high amounts of proteins in it. It is definitely a good choice for adults and kids alike. It goes well with rotis and rice. 

My mother has always cooked it as thoran recipe. But since I like curries more, I tried it in a new way and it ended up being a good one. So let us move on to our super simple recipe. I have cooked it with no oil. You may use oil if required.

INGREDIENTS:

Horse Gram, Soaked – 1 cup

Red Onion – 1 small

Tomato – 1

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Chilli powder – ¼ tablespoon

Curry leaves – a sprig

Salt to taste

Oil – ½ table spoon (optional)

Water

METHOD:

Soak the horse gram for around 4 hours. Take a pressure cooker and add all the other ingredients with enough water to cover all the ingredients and cook. One to two whistles on low heat should be enough. Mix well and serve!

NB: You may add oil along with the other ingredients before cooking. 

Add more water and boil. if you want it to be watery.

BANANA FRY Or KAYA MEZHUKUVARATTY

BANANA FRY Or KAYA MEZHUKUVARATTY: This is a very easy fry. It is crispy and spicy. You may have it with rice or Thali. It adds a variety to everyday food. This dish is widely made in kerala. This is a dish which we would have all cherished as kids. I am sure; it would be an instant hit with kids.  It is made with Green, unripe banana.

INGREDIENTS:

Unripe Banana – 2 or 3

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon or less

Curry leaves – 4 to 5

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 to 2 tablespoon

METHOD:

Clean and cut the green bananas into thin slices. Heat oil in a pan and add the banana pieces and salt. Close the pan with a lid and cook till tender. Add turmeric powder and red chilli and curry leaves and sauté till lightly crisp. Serve!

NB: stir once a while very gently, so that the pieces do not stick to the bottom. Using coconut oil would give more taste and aroma. 

BEAN SPROUT Or CHERUPAYAR MULAPICHATHU or MOONG DAL THORAN

BEAN SPROUT Or CHERUPAYAR MULAPICHATHU or MOONG DAL THORAN: Bean Sprout as we all know is a very healthy and nutritious option. But none of us are fantasised by the option of having it. Some of us adults and even very small kids cannot have sprouts raw because of gastric issues. Sprouts for babies and toddlers should be cooked as they are prone to gastric issues as their digestive system is not well developed. Some of us even do not like its raw taste too. This recipe would definitely bring a change to all that. But always remember sprouts are highly nutritious in their raw form. The more we cook them, the nutrition level decreases.

The speciality of moong dal apart from its high level of protein and fibre content is that it has zero cholesterol and has good amounts of magnesium also. Around 100 grams of cooked moong dal provides only  105 calories. Sprouts are even called as super foods. The carbohydrates and calories decreases almost by 15% in moong dal sprouts as compared to the ordinary moong dal where as their protein and other vitamin and mineral contents increase significantly.

This recipe should very well be incorporated with your breakfast, lunch or even dinner. You may have it with rice, chapattis, khuboos, pita bread or even bread.

INGREDIENTS:

Sprouted Bean, cooked – 1 to ½ cup

Red onion – 1

Scraped coconut – 2 to 3 tablespoons (optional)

Dried red chillies – 2
Turmeric powder - a pinch

Mustard seeds – ½ tablespoon

Curry leaves – a sprig

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Cook the sprouted beans in Pressure cooker, about a whistle or two. In a pan, heat oil and splutter the mustard seeds along with the dried red chillies. Add the chopped onions and sweat them. Add curry leaves and salt along with scraped coconut and turmeric powder and sauté for a minute. Add cooked sprouts and mix well. Serve!

NB: Do not overcook the sprouts. This is a dry dish, so do not add too much water while you pressure cook the sprouts. Scraped coconut gives a crunch and added taste to the dish. 

THE SECRET TO SOFT APPAM

THE SECRET TO SOFT APPAM: Appam is best had with egg curry, chicken curry, mutton curry, beef curry, vegetable curries like chana masala, green peas masala and so on and on....I guess you could try it out with most. My favourites are vegetable masala in coconut milk, egg curry and chicken masala.  It would surely make your breakfast a delightful experience.

If you are thinking what an appam is.......... Appam is a fermented pancake that is made in every home in kerala. I am sure every keralite would love it. This is one of those recipes which are very simple but definitely has its tricks and turns. If you do not get your batter right, believe me your appam would definitely be a flop....so be very alert. But do not worry, it is very simple. You may require some practice to perfect them.

Appam batter is normally made with grinding soaked rice, coconut, sugar, coconut milk and yeast or soda powder. It is time consuming and at the same time very tricky. I swear I have tried making it so many times, even tried the instant ones but none of them came out so perfectly. It does not have the true taste of the mouth watering palappams but still better than the instant ones.

I owe a big thanks to my second sister in law for this. Her house owner had taught her this recipe. I have made few changes to it to enhance its taste like adding coconut milk.

INGREDIENTS:

White Rice or Raw Rice – 2 cups

Aval or Poha or Beaten Rice – 1 cup

Thick Coconut Milk – ¼ to ½ cup 

( around 5 tablespoons of coconut milk powder)

Yeast – ½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon

Sugar – 1 tablespoon

Water

Salt

METHOD:

Soak the white rice and beaten rice for at the least 4 hours. You may even soak the beaten rice just half an hour before grinding it. Grind the soaked white rice and beaten rice together.  Dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm water. Mix in the yeast and coconut milk to the ground mixture. The batter is ready.  Leave it overnight.

In the morning, add salt to the well risen batter. The appam is ready to be cooked. To cook, add a sccop  or ladle of the batter to slightly hot pan at its centre. You may have to swirl or rotate the pan, if you are using an appam pan. If you are using a flat one, just spread it out like the way you would do for  dosa or pancake. Cover it with a lid. Remove from the pan, once it is well cooked.

NB: You may cook the appam using a appachatti or a non stick appam pan to get the shape of a palappam. You may even cook it in a normal pan; this would make your appam flat.

The consistency of the batter should be runny but not too runny. Even if the batter is slightly thick, you may add a bit of water just before cooking to get the right consistency. If the Batter is too runny, it may stick to the pan.

If your batter is too runny, you may add in nicely soaked and ground rice flour to get the right consistency. You may also add in the  appam or idiyappam flours that you get to get the right thickness. In such a case, leave the batter again to ferment or rise for an hour.

I have used instant yeast. In that case, if you add around 1/2 to 3/4 th of a tablespoon, your appam batter would be ready to cook within an hour or so, well depending on your climate too...

You may also use soda powder instead of the yeast and sugar mixture. In that case, add a pinch of soda powder around 15 to 20 minutes before you cook.

You may also use a mixture of yeast and soda powder. 

Check on your yeast and soda powder levels, it may hamper the taste of your appams. 

You may choose not to use coconut milk. In that case, you may not get it very tasty. 

Instead you may also try by adding one small shallot and few cumin seeds while grinding the batter, it definitely gives a different taste. The taste and smell might not appeal to everyone. 

EASY RAJMA Or RED KIDNEY BEANS Or VANPAYAR RECIPE

EASY  RAJMA Or RED KIDNEY BEANS Or VANPAYAR  RECIPE: This is my style red kidney beans curry. It is very easy one. I have always been a fan of rajma recipe. I fell in love with this curry while having food at the North Indian restaurants.

Did you know that red kidney beans can prevent blood sugars from sudden hiking after a meal like cinnamon. It also has cholesterol lowering capacity like other beans.  They also have high fiber content. Apart from all this it is also high in proteins and helps replenish the iron in your body especially for women.

However just like they say even amrit in high amounts is bad for you, consuming high amounts of red kidney beans might lead to diarrohea, blood clotting and so on....so check on your amount. After all, a healthy and well balanced diet is what matters...

So, moving on to the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

Rajma or Red Kidney Beans – ½ cup soaked or canned

Tomato – 1 to 1½

Red Onion – 1 small

Curry leaves – a sprig

Chilli Powder - ¼ tablespoon

Turmeric Powder – a pinch

Garam Masala Powder – 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tablespoon

METHOD:

Soak the red kidney beans overnight preferably.  Take a pressure cooker and add all the ingredients and cook on low flame till done.

Since I soaked it only for around 4 hours I had to increase the time of cooking. I cooked for around 6 to 7 whistles.

Yup! You are done!!! Is that not easy????

MUSHROOM THORAN

MUSHROOM THORAN: I should thank my mom for this awesome recipe. This thoran is an authentic kerala dish.  My early memories of this dish go back to my childhood. I remember during my vacations we used to visit my dad’s home and in the backyard the mushrooms used to sprout. It is so beautiful to see them especially the white ones. My grand mom used to pick them and make dry chutney with them.

The last time I had them was after my delivery. She got few of them for me and my mom prepared this awesome thoran. It was a delight.

Since we do not get those types of mushrooms here, I have done it with button mushrooms available at the super market. It is very tasty as it has the meat masala aroma and taste.

The best thing about button mushrooms is that they contain high amounts of vitamin D, digestive enzymes and proteins.

 “A 2009 case control study of 2,018 women correlated a large decrease of breast cancer incidence in women who consumed mushrooms. Women in the study who consumed fresh mushrooms daily were 64% less likely to develop breast cancer, while those that combined a mushroom diet with regular green tea consumption reduced their risk of breast cancer by nearly 90%.” -  Wikipedia.

That is great information. So, you see mushroom is a great option especially for vegetarians. But do be careful especially if you are plucking them from the wild, there are toxic ones too!!!!!!!

INGREDIENTS:

Button Mushrooms – 6 to 8 big ones

Coconut scraped - 3 to 4 tablespoons

Onion – 1 big

Or

Shallots – 8 to 10

Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

Fennel seeds – 2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon

Chilli powder – ½ tablespoon

Coriander powder – ½ tablespoon

Garam Masala powder – ¼ to ½ tablespoon

Curry leaves – a sprig

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tablespoon

METHOD:

Clean and chop the mushrooms and onions separately. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add fennel seeds.Once they turn brown, add turmeric, chilli, and coriander and garam masala powder and saute till the raw smell goes.  

Add the scraped coconut, curry leaves, salt, mushrooms and onion. Sauté well and cook on low heat with a lid on. Cook till mushrooms are done or till they are nice and tender.

NB: Do not add water as the water from the mushrooms and onion is enough to get it cooked well. 

You may even try it without coriander powder. 

Using coconut oil gives a different taste and great aroma. 

Cook the entire dish on low heat.

CURD PAKODA

CURD PAKODA: The perfect snack for a rainy evening. The smell and the feel of having hot hot pakodas with tea and heavy rain in the background (I am in kerala currently) is one of a feeling. It can never be duplicated. I am not sure if I am the only person who has the problem of being really hungry most of the time especially when it gets cold. My mom certainly made my evening a beautiful one with her hot hot curd pakodas. It is an easy to make snack.

INGREDIENTS:

Maida -1 cup

Curd – ¼ cup

Chopped Ginger – 1 tablespoon

Green chilli chopped – 3

Red Onion – 1 medium

Salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

METHOD:

Mix all the ingredients to make a batter with thick consistency. Pour water if required. Take a heavy bottomed pan for deep frying. Take enough oil and heat it. Pour the batter into the oil using a tablespoon. Make sure that the pakodas do not stick to each other. Cook on medium heat. This will ensure that it gets cooked well on the inside. Remove the pakodas when golden brown on both sides. You may have it with ketchup or any dip or chutney as you please. Serve hot!

NB: check the sourness of your curd. You can also add thinly chopped carrots and beans to the mixture, to make it more healthy.

UPMA or THICK SEMOLINA PORRIDGE

UPMA or THICK SEMOLINA PORRIDGE: Upma is one of the simplest dishes you can find on the south Indian breakfast menu. As a child I used to hate it. I had no idea how to make an upma even after my marriage. Then one day, I bought a roasted rava or semolina pack. On the back of it was mentioned the method of making the upma. I tried it and it was a success. I swear it tasted better than my mother’s upma. Well the difference was the addition of ghee or clarified butter. It was this ingredient that made all the difference. From that day, both my husband and I are fans of upma.

The way of having upma also differs from house to house. Some have with bananas or plantains. Some like to have it with just sugar. Some like to have a combination of both. Some like to eat it as such. But I love to have it with white coconut chutney. I swear I love this combination. Anyone who has tried that combination will surely love it.

I am posting the traditional upma recipe but you may add veggies like carrot and French beans to it.

INGREDIENTS:

Roasted Semolina – 1 to 1 ¼  cup

Water – 2 cups

Ginger – ½ “ piece

Dried red chilli – 2

Green chilli – 2

Red Onion – 1

Mustard seeds – 1 tablespoon

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Ghee or clarified butter – ½ to 1 tablespoon

 METHOD:

Clean and slice the onions. Clean and cut other veggies like carrot and beans (which are optional). Slit the green chilli into two.

Take a heavy bottomed pan. Heat oil and splutter the mustard seeds along with dried red chillies. Add ginger and sauté till it turns light brown. Add the onions and green chilli and sweat them. Add salt. Add other veggies along with the onion.

When the green chilli turns translucent, add curry leaves and ghee along with water. When the water boils and bubbles up nicely add the semolina. You need to add the semolina and stir at the same time. This ensures that no lumps will be formed and it gets cooked evenly.  Keep stirring till the semolina gets cooked and becomes dry. This will take hardly a minute or two. Turn off the stove and serve!

NB: Always add salt before you add semolina. The salt should be on a higher side before you put the semolina so that once you cook with the semolina it gets the correct taste. If you put salt after you cook it, it won’t get uniformly distributed. 

VENDEKA KICHADI or LADY’S FINGER or OKRA KICHADI

VENDEKA KICHADI or LADY’S FINGER or OKRA KICHADI: Okra has been my favourite vegetable of my childhood times. I used to nag my mother around to make okra stir fry. This is one of the first vegetables I learnt to clean and cut as early as 5 or 6 years. I used to tell her that I would cut it and she has to make me the stir fry. My mother has made okra kichadi only once or twice. I will post the okra stir fry some other time.

This dish goes perfectly well with rice especially as a part of the traditional sadhya.

Okra is one of the most low calorie vegetables. It contains a lot of fiber, vitamin A, C and K. It is one of the best foods to relieve constipation due to its high fiber content. So it truly makes it a healthy dish which is so easy to make.

INGREDIENTS:

Okra – around 10 numbers

Red Onion – 1

Scraped coconut – 3 to 4 tablespoons

Green chilli – 2 to 3

Mustard seeds – 1 tablespoon

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Curd or buttermilk or labaan – ¼ to ½ cup

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 to 2 tablespoon

METHOD:

Clean and cut the okras in round shape. Slice the onions. Grind the scraped coconut, green chilli and half of the mustard seeds.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add okra, curry leaves and red onions along with salt and sauté till it turns lightly brown. 

Add the ground mixture along with the curd or buttermilk. Turn off the stove and serve!

CARROT AND BEANS THORAN

CARROT AND BEANS THORAN: I simply hate the taste of beans thoran. But my husband loves it. So each time I make it he ends up eating it alone. That does not work as well as I will be forced to eat it despite my efforts to convince him that I hate it. That is when the idea of mixing both these veggies came to me. I love carrots. So the combination of French beans and carrot.

INGREDIENTS:

Carrot – 1 big

French beans – around 20

Curry leaf – 1 sprig

Scraped coconut – 5 to 6 tablespoons

Garlic clove – 1

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Chilli powder -½  teaspoon

Cumin seeds or jeerakam – ½ tablespoon

Mustard seeds – ½ tablespoon

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 to 2 tablespoon

Dried red chilli – 1 or 2

METHOD:

Clean the veggies and chop them separately. Roughly grind scraped coconut, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin seeds, curry leaf and garlic clove.

Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds along with dried red chillies. Add carrots and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add French beans and the ground mixture with salt.  

Cover with a lid and cook over low heat.  Check and sauté once in a while to avoid burning. Serve!

NB: If you are using a chopper, no need to grind the mix. You may add it along with the french beans for chopping. 

POTATO MASALA FRY WITH LIME

POTATO MASALA FRY WITH LIME: Potatoes has always been one of my favourite vegetables. I just love its taste especially when you season it with salt and chilli. Just these two ingredients and it taste so great. This masala fry has been a result of my love for potatoes, masala and of course the taste and smell of fennel seeds. The smell and taste of the fennel seeds is so kind of addictive. The secret actually is that it has the smell and taste of meat masala. This is the prime ingredient in it. And each time you get the smell, you actually think of the spicy meat curries....yum!

The potato masala fry is a simple and easy thing to make. You may use it as a side dish or use as a salad (when we went to a restaurant they had potato salad and it was made with masala). But that was too hot. The thing that would give a twist to this fry is the use of lime juice. So here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Potato – 1 large

Red Onion – 1 small

Fennel seeds – ½ teaspoon

Red chilli to season

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Garam Masala Powder – 2 pinches

Salt to taste

Lime juice – 5 to 6 drops or the juice of 1 small lime

Oil – 1 to 2 tablespoon

Coriander leaf to garnish

METHOD:

Clean and dice the potato. Thin slice the red onion. 

Take a pan and heat some oil. Add the diced potatoes and salt and cook till almost done. 

Add fennel seeds. Cook till potatoes are done.Add the onions and sauté.

 Add turmeric powder and sauté. Add chilli powder and sauté. Add garam masala and sauté. 

Turn off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves. Drizzle or squeeze the lemon on top. 

  Serve hot!

NB: The chilli powder, garam masala powder and turmeric have to be put and sauté separately so that it gets uniformly spread. Make sure no lime seeds fall into the fry. 

LEMON RASAM or LEMON SOUP

LEMON RASAM or LEMON SOUP: This rasam has entertained our taste buds for generations. This has always been one of my favourites. The moment when you crave for a hot, salty and tangy food....this is the perfect one. It is very easy. It takes just few minutes. It is also the easiest dish you could make when all the side dish for your rice is dry and you need something to make it wet. My father’s mother used to make it and my mom also makes it. Obviously my mom learned it from her. And I learned it from my mom.

If you are wondering what rasam is.....rasam is a south Indian soup or juice made with spices and vegetables. It normally is very hot and tangy and watery. So let’s cut short the talk and move on to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Lemon – 1 medium size

Oil - ½ tablespoon

Mustard seeds – ¼ tablespoon

Curry leaves – a sprig

Shallots or small onions – 1 sliced into thin pieces (optional)

Water

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Cut and squeeze the lemon. Remove all the seeds from the lemon juice. Add water and salt to it. 

Take a small vessel and heat oil in it. Splutter the mustard seeds and add shallots and curry leaves. Sauté till the shallots turn brown. 

Add chilli powder and lemon juice immediately. Reduce the heat. When the rasam becomes warm, turn off the stove and Serve!

NB: Add approximately 150 to 200 ml of water. Just ensure that tanginess of the lemon should be felt. Do not boil the rasam. Prepare this on low heat or else the chilli powder may get burnt.

MATHAGA CHERUPAYAR ERISSERY or PUMPKIN or BUTTERNUT SQUASH MASH WITH GREEN GRAM or MOONG DAL

MATHAGA CHERUPAYAR ERISSERY or PUMPKIN or BUTTERNUT SQUASH MASH WITH GREEN GRAM or MOONG DAL: I have tried the pumpkin erissery number of times and I never got the taste correct. My parents had flown in to be with us for a few days and my mother made it for me. Yum!!!!!!!! It tasted so great and yes I also learnt it....so today was the trial day and it was a huge success.

Unlike most curries, this is not at all hot and spicy. This has a sweet and salty taste. Even my baby had few spoons of it. The pumpkin erissery can also be made with the red beans. I tried making it with sambar dal and it tasted terrible. Instead of pumpkin you may also use butter nut squash. 

The best part of this dish is that it is a combination of pumpkin and green gram, both of which are power packed with nutrients. Pumpkins are rich in antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals. It is even used in dieting programs as it has very low calories. It has very high vitamin A. Green gram on the other hand is a rich source of low fat protein. It is also high in fiber. Green gram is also considered as a great food for weaning babies.

It tastes best with hot rice and papad. It is a simple and delicious vegetarian feast.  You may also have it with rotis.

INGREDIENTS:

Pumpkin or butter nut squash cubed – about 2 cups

Green gram – ¼ cup

Scraped coconut – 7 tablespoons

Garlic – 1 to 2 cloves

Cumin seeds – ¼ tablespoon

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Chilli powder – ¼ to ½ tablespoon

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Mustard seeds – 1 tablespoon

Dry red chilli – 1

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Water

METHOD:

Clean and cube the pumpkins. Soak the green grams for about an hour or so. Pressure cook the green gram with a bit of salt (approximately 2 whistles on low heat).

In the meantime, grind roughly the following:

Scraped coconut – 3 tablespoons, curry leaf – a sprig, garlic clove, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, chilli powder and very little water.

Pour this mixture to the cooked green gram and add the pumpkin pieces. Cook till the pumpkins are well cooked (approximately one whistle).  Mash the pumpkins and mix it well. Check for the salt. If the mixture is too thick, add little water, preferably hot water.

In another pan, heat some oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the rest of the scraped coconut and sauté till light golden brown. Add the rest curry leaves and dry red chilli and sauté. Pour this to the cooked pumpkin green gram mixture. Serve!

NB: The sweetness will depend on the sweetness of the pumpkin. 

         

KAYA THORAN or UNRIPE BANANA THORAN

KAYA THORAN or UNRIPE BANANA THORAN: This is an authentic Kerala dish. It is spicy as well as dry. You may use it as a side dish along with rice. This one reminds me of the tapioca smash which is very famous in Kerala. Just like any other thoran the spice mix is the same but the chilli would be bit on the higher side. 

INGREDIENTS:

Unripe Banana – 2

Garlic cloves – 2 to 3

Scraped Coconut – 4 to 5 tablespoons

Green chillies – 4 to 5

Cumin seeds – ½ tablespoon

Turmeric – a pinch

Curry leaves – a sprig

Salt to taste

Oil to drizzle

Water

METHOD:

Clean and cut the unripe bananas into slightly thin pieces. I have sliced the banana into half and then again cut them horizontally. Then cut each slice into smaller dice.

 Take a pan and pour little water. Add the cut bananas and salt. Cover the pan and cook till the bananas are well cooked.

 In the meantime grind scraped coconut, garlic cloves, cumin seeds, turmeric, green chillies and curry leaves with no or little water. Just get these ingredients mixed, do not form a paste.

 Once the bananas are cooked, add this mixture and mix well. Wait till all the water is absorbed or cook for a minute on low heat.

 Drizzle oil and serve. 

PEANUT CHUTNEY or SPICY PEANUT BUTTER or PEANUT HUMMUS or PEANUT DIP

PEANUT CHUTNEY or SPICY PEANUT BUTTER or PEANUT HUMMUS or PEANUT DIP:The memory of this chutney dates back to my school days. I have had it only very few times. My mom used to make it at home. The taste is so heavenly that I still remember it to this day. This memory has made me to try it. And it turned to be great! Yup! It was a successful attempt.

If you like hummus, you must definitely try this!

If you like peanut, you should definitely try this!

If you like peanut butter, this should give you a variety. So try it!

If you hate peanut butter like me, this is definitely for you. So try it!

In short try it!!! You will never regret.

I just cannot stand the taste of peanut butter. There would be so many folks around who would want to kick me for that...but I am sorry, I just cannot handle it. There is in fact a restaurant in US, by the name of Peanut butter &Co. You see people love peanut butter so much. I just do not understand why. Even my sister loves it...when my mom used to make peanut butter sandwiches, she had to make sure she made something else for me....it is that bad. I have had it just once, and that was the end.

So, I am dedicating this recipe for such folks.  And yeah one more thing...Peanut is something you should have especially kids. This is because it is high in energy and hence makes it apt for breakfast. It has oleic acid which keeps your cholesterol in check by increasing the good cholesterol and lowering the bad cholesterol. It has good amino acids which promotes growth. It even has vitamin E, which is good for your skin. It also has vitamin B complex and promotes blood flow to brain and improves brain health.  It is a rich source of minerals. Studies have shown that peanuts reduce the risk of cancer, heart diseases and viral or fungal infections.

ALL THIS MAKES IT A MUST HAVE!!!!!!!!!

You can have it between bread, or with dosa or simply apply it to your Arabic bread. You can even replace this with hummus in that chicken grill kit. Here in UAE, you get hummus in the grilled chicken kit. You should take a piece of Arabic bread or khuboos and dip in hummus and have a piece of grilled chicken and a potato fry or salad piece which is optional and have it. I love the grilled chicken from shatter Hassen in abu dhabi. It is a Lebanese restaurant, I believe(they even have keralites working for them....I guess it is the part of....where ever you go on earth you meet a  malayali kind of thing). One should definitely try it.

So let us move on to the recipe. Definitely an easy one.

INGREDIENTS:

Roasted Peanuts – 15 to 20 (I have used big ones)

Green chilli – 4 small

Red Onion – 1 small

Salt to taste

Water

METHOD:

Remove the peanut skin. Take a grinder and add the roasted peanuts and chopped onion and green chilli. Add little water and salt. Grind it and serve!

 It is as simple as that.

NB: Do not worry, if your chutney turned out to be watery, add more peanuts and adjust your spices.  It should have the hummus or mayonnaise consistency.

If you need more spice, increase the number of chillies. The chutney that I made did not turn out to be too spicy even with 4 chillies.

Remember, you are using roasted peanuts, so have a check on salt levels.

 If you are allergic to peanuts, please do not try this.

REPOSTING AGAIN, AS I DELETED IT BY MISTAKE!

RED CHILLI CHUTNEY or RED CHILLI DIP or MULAGU CHAMMANTHEY

RED CHILLI CHUTNEY or RED CHILLI DIP or MULAGU CHAMMANTHEY: This is one of my hot favourite chutneys of all time. It is very easy to make and very hot. If you like the hotness of chilli, you should try this.

My mother’s father was a great fan of this chutney. Whenever we had idli for breakfast, this chutney was a must. He used to dip the idli into that and feed me too when I was about 7 or 8 years....it was yum!

My father’s father used to have a variation. He used to have round green colour (Habanero I guess) squashed with hand in coconut oil and salt for lunch with rice. If we used to sit down together for lunch, the moment he squashes the chilli into the coconut oil and salt, I would have tears in my eyes.  Miss both of them L.

It is very easy to make. It goes well with boiled tapioca, dosa, idli or other boiled tubers like yam, elephant yam, etc. You can also use this dip to mix it with your sandwich dips to make them spicier.

INGREDIENTS:

Whole dry red chillies – 4 to 5

Red Onion - 1 small

or

Shallots (kochu ulli) – 3 to 4

Oil – 1 to 2 teaspoons

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Take a pan and sauté the red chillies for a minute or so. Do not burn them. Just warm them to enhance their flavours. You can see the chilli turning into darker colour. Slice the onions. Put the chillies along with the onion, salt and oil into the grinder. Serve!

If the chutney is a bit too spicy for you, you may mix it with buttermilk or yogurt. This also tastes good. My sister has it that way.

NB: I have used coconut oil; it gives the authentic taste. Shallots give it a better taste.

       If you do not have whole red chillies, you may even use red chilli powder. It taste better with whole red        chillies.

KOZHUKATTA or SWEET RICE DUMPLING

KOZHUKATTA or SWEET RICE DUMPLING: This is one dish which can be eaten as breakfast, snack and even as a desert. I am sure every keralite would have had a number of times. Well, there are variations to kozhukatta. The one that I am presenting here is the sweet one. At my husband’s place they call it thuru vecha kozhukatta (no idea why they call it that way....hopefully some Trivandrum person will be kind enough to explain that).

 I also remember my mother making the non sweet version (even my elder sister in law makes it. She loves it that way). But both the versions are different.

 My grand mom used to make it in the traditional way. She used to soak the rice and cumin and grind them and scraped coconut is also used. But I am not sure of the traditional way of making it. My mom used to make it the easy way. So, I am following her footsteps. J

This sweet rice dumpling can be made of sugar or palm jaggery (chakkara) or jaggery (sharkara). I have used palm jaggery here. I will try to post the non sweet version soon.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice powder – 1.5 cup

Hot boiling water - 2 cups

Jaggery – around ¼ cup

Scrapped coconut – around ¼ cup

(The following ingredients are optional.)

Cumin seeds or jeerakam– ¼ teaspoon

Cardamom seeds or Elachi or elekka– 2 to 3

Dry ginger or chukku – a pinch

Salt – a pinch

METHOD:

Mix the scraped coconut and Jaggery along with the spices (which are optional). Take the rice powder in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Add hot boiling water little by little and mix at the same time. This will ensure you do not have any lumps and the water gets absorbed evenly. Close the bowl with a lid. Leave for few minutes.

Knead the dough with the hand. Be careful as the dough is hot. The dough will have the consistency of a bit loose chapatti or slightly loose pastry mix. It should not be watery.

Once kneaded, make balls out of it. Once you make a ball, immediately flatten it on the palm of your hand (dip your fingers in water before flattening if the mixture is sticky). Add the coconut mixture to the centre and bring back the flattened dough ends to form a ball.

Once all the dumpling balls are made, place it in a steamer and steam for about 5 to 7 minutes and serve. You may serve it hot or cold.

NB: Once you roll the dumpling ball, you may roll it between your palms to ensure they get a proper round shape.

When you flatten the dough, do not make it too thin as the ball may break and leak the sugar or jaggery juice into your steamer.

Avoid putting cumin and dry ginger together; I personally do not like the taste. You may do it, if you like the combination.

Depending on your sweetness level adjust the jaggery or sugar.