Chakka podithooval - Dry sabji of Raw and tender jack fruit with grated coconut.

This is yet another recipe that I learned from my mom. the way she cooks this dish is just awesome and its my all time favourite. This is a Very easy to make dish and as the jack fruit season is fast approaching all of u can try this at home. All you need is a medium sized jack where the fruits are yet to develop. U can make this with unripened jack fruits too. 

Cut the jack and remove of the thick gummy portion in the middle and the thorny outer covering too. The portion that we take for making this dish is thin fibre type parts that are seen near the fruits + the unripened small jack fruits. scrape it using knife and it will start falling off.(if small fruits have developed scrape that also.)

boil all the scraped portions in a pressure cooker using little bit of turmeric and salt and water just to cover the vegetable- for 2-3 whistles. Remove the lid of the cooker and evaporate the extra water.

Now in a kadai heat some oil, crack the mustard seeds, Saute chopped small onion (1 handful), crushed garlic -3-4 pieces, few curry leaves, till nice aroma comes. Now add grated coconut 1 cup to this and add a pinch of turmeric powder and jeera powder. add salt if required.saute again well till coconut gives a nice smell. Add the cooked jack fruit to this and saute well and cover for few seconds till the flavour nicely blends. Serve with rice.

Veg Kheema stuffed in snakegourd

Sounds different ? Generally kheema is minced meat of mutton or beef or chicken . But here I have given a twist for the vegetarians. Have used soya granules as kheema. It tasted good. And all soya lovers you have one more item to try with the granules.

Tasted this recipe with kheema from a friend's home and her mom had cooked it so tasty that I cudnt resist myself from trying this out of my own imaginations.

Recipe:
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soya granules -2 cups

Boil the soya in excess of water adding required amount of salt and when it is cooled squeeze of the water. Wash in cold water again and squeeze. Continue this process till the water coming out is clear and white.

snake gourd - (thin ones are better) -2-3 cut into cyndrical shapes.
Onion -3 medium
Garlic and ginger -minced to fresh paste -2 tbspn
keep 2-3 garlic pods and 1/4 inch ginger chopped extra for seasoning
shallots-5 to 6 nos
curry leaves -few, dhaniya leaves- few chopped

Make a masala of soya granules. For that heat some oil add chopped onions (2 nos) , freshly ground ginger garlic paste, few curry leaves, saute till nice aroma comes. Add the masala one by one
Turmeric power -1/2 tspn
Red chilli powder -1/2 tspn
Coriander powder-1 tspn
Gharam masala -1/4 tspn
Mix well and add the soya granules now . Mix everything together till the flavour gets into the granules.can add salt if required. Once done allow it to cool.

Fill this mix in the cylindrical shapes of snake gourd and press it hard to make a tight pack. (or else it will disperse off into the gravy).

For the gravy

Heat oil in a kadai. Crack some mustard seeds, saunf, small onions chopped, garlic pods and ginger chopped. Saute well and add curry leaves. Now add the following masala

turmeric powder-1/2 tspn
Red chilli powder -1/2 tspn
Coriander powder -3 tspn
Mix on low flame till the raw smell is gone. Now add enough water to cook the snake gourd pieces. Allow it to boil. Now add freshly ground gharam masala.
Once start boiling slowly drop in the stuffed snake gourds and cook on low flame Adjust the amount of salt required. In between turn the stuffed pieces so that the upper side also gets cooked. Cook covered. dont saute in between or else the stuffing will come outside.

All the non-veg lovers please try this with minced meat as the taste is awesome with meat. Veg lovers can try this recipe using soya granules. Serve with Rice or Roti. If can take a little effort this is really worth trying.

Chena ( elephant yam) masala fry

We can use elephant Yam ( Chena in malayalam) for makign a variety of curries. This one is a different yet simple recipe that kids love too much. 

Ingredients

Elephant yam - 1 medium cut into small strips
Masalas required are
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
Red chilli powder -1/2 - 3/4 tspn
Veg masala -1/4 tspn If you dont have veg/sabji masala u can add gharam masala or chicken masala too

Marinate the whole together with salt and leave for few minutes. If u see the water left out from the yam after marination throw it off as it will be a bit sticky. Fry the dry pieces in oil and serve with Rice or can have as a snack with sauce/ketchup

Aloo Parwal dry Masala.

Dedicate to my husband ..who loves aloo-parwal combo

Aloo - 2nos
Parwal - 4-5
tomato -1 medium

Onion -1 big
Garlic-5 cloves
Curry leaves -few

Turmeric powder -1/2 tspn
Red chilli powder -1 tspn
Vegetable masala (Sabji masala) - 1 tspn ( can use chicken masala also instead)
Salt and oil as required

Cut the vegetables to cubes. Boil Aloo and parwal together with turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Cook till half done. But water should be completely evaporated. (adjust the water accordingly).

In a kadai heat some oil, crack mustard seeds, Add chopped onions, garlic,curry leaves, saute till transluscent, add chopped tomatos, . Sprinkle some salt for easy cooking. Now add the vegetable masal and saute till raw smell is gone. Mix cooked Aloo-parwal along with this and remaining cooking of aloo parwal is done in oil. Drizzle few drops of oil on top of sabji and cook on low fire , sauting in between till it is completely done.

Kaalan ( Yam in thick yoghurt curry)

This is yet another delicacy of Kerala Cuisine and is an important item in Kerala Sadhya.

Yam - 200 gms cut into cubes
Pepper powder -1 tspn
Turmeric powder -1/2 tspn
salt as required

Pressure cook Yam with pepper powder, salt and turmeric powder for 2-3 whistles. (can mash it if the curry need to be more thicker or can use it in cube form itself).

Meantime grind to a smooth paste

grated coconut -1 cup
Jeera-1/2 tspn
Pepper corns -1/2 tspn
turmeric powder -1/2 tspn
Curry leaves -few
Small onion/shallots -2-3
garlic -2-3 (can avoid also)

Make a cup of thick yoghurt (can use the strained yoghurt made at home or the readymade thicker one also). beat it without lumps.

To the cooked yam add the grinded coconut mix and heat in slow fire till bubbles start coming. stir it. the curry shouldnt boil too much but at the same time the raw smell of the ground mix should go off. so you can keep on stirring for few more seconds.

Switch off the burner now and when it is not too hot but still warm add the beaten curd. Mix well and adjust the salt level now.
( pls remember NOT to add the cur while the curry is too hot as this will loosen the consistency)
Now season with mustard, dry chillies, curry leaves and 2-3 shallots deep fried in oil. Please take care not to mix this immediately . Just pour it on top of the curry and mix it only while you serve. this enhances the taste of the curry more.
Serve with rice.

Aloo-Phool gobhi pepper fry ( Potato and Cauliflowr pepper fry)

As the name indicates the major ingredients are Potato and Cauliflower. Very easy to make, less spicy and tastier side dish for Rice. This is relished so much in our home and my family demands making this more often than the usual manchurian or masala curry with cauliflower.

Gobhi - 1 medium sized 
Detach the florets from the flower ( make it to small florets) . Boil in hot water with salt added for 10 minutes. S

train and keep it aside.

Potato - 2nos
Onion chopped - 1 big
green chilli -3-4
Crushed pepper - 1 to 1 & 1/2 tspn
Salt - as required
Oil as required

In a kadai heat oil, crack mustard seeds, and fry onion , followed by chopped potato,Add salt . when potatos are half done add the cooked gobhi florets and slit green chillies. saute till all are cooked very well and a nice aroma comes. Add crushed pepper now. Mix well and keep on low fire for some more time. Serve with rice. 

Malai moong - Sprouted Moong beans (green gram) in malai gravy

A very tasty and yummy side dish for Rotis, Naans and parathas. Excellent in taste and yet easy to make. 

Moong beans/green gram - 1 cup
Soak the beans in some water and allow it to sprout.

Pressue cook the beans with salt and the following ingredients for 3-4 whistles.

Ginger -1 inch -chopped thin
Garlic -10 -15 cloves chopped ( have used too much of garlic for this to give a special flavour).
Onion - medium sized 1 no.chopped.

For the gravy:

In a kadai heat some oil,  Crack mustard seeds followed by saunf (perumjeerakam).
Add 1 onion chopped to this and saute till golden brown
Add few curry leaves. Now add the masalas required one by one

Turmeric powder -1 tspn
Red chilli powder - 1/2- 3/4 tspn (depending on your taste for spiciness
Coriander powder - 2-3 tspn

Saute the masalas in the oil along with onion till raw smell is gone. Add  the Vegetable masala towards the end (can also use Chicken masala or home made gharam masala also). Saute till the masala powders change the colour ( but shouldnt charr).

Mix the cooked moong beans in this masala. Saute well and add the required amount of water sufficient for a thick gravy. Allow it to boil .And Finally add fresh cream ( I have used Amul Fresh cream) 100 gms. Mix and boil till first bubbles. Mix well cover and allow to rest. Serve after few minutes. Enjoy the taste. :)

Potato- Sweet corn masala

I made this masala for having with Appam. This is a less spicy and simple to make recipe to be used as a filling for dosa and can be had with roti/naan also. trust me it is really worth trying

Ingredients required :

Potatos -3 nos
Sweet corn -1 cup
Onion -2 medium or 1 big
Garlic-5 cloves
Green chilli -3 slited lengthwise
ginger -1/2 inch size sliced thin

turmeric powder -1 tspn
Gharam masala (used the homemade one ) -1/2 tspn

Pressure cook all the ingredients with salt and the rest of the ingredients for 3-4 whistles till the potato is thoroughly cooked to soft. In a kadai heat some oil , add some mustard, saunf, 2-3 chopped small onions, 2 crushed garlic, few curry leaves and pour the cooked potato over this. Allow to cook till one boil and it is done.

Bittergourd without the bitterness

This is my innovative recipe using Bittergourd. Tried making this and was surprised to see all in my family finishing the plate with the same speed as when we serve other sabjis.
Without compromising on the nutrional and medicinal values of  bittergourd we can cook this vegetable in some different ways still making it an yummiest one. I will share few of my innovative recipes using bittergourd here

This is a very easy to make. .

Ingredient required

Carrot -1
Beetroot -1
Big onion -1
Bitter courd -2
Chop all the vegetables to fine bits. Can add a potato also (for potato lovers)
Slit green chillies - 4-5 nos
A pinch of turmeric
Curry leaves - few
Salt and oil as required

Very few ingredients and little masalas na?? Yes.. and am sure this is going to rock your table. And Bitter gourd will be the next preferred item in your list.

Method.

In a pan heat some oil. Add the bittergourd first and saute for few seconds or till it is soft.

(Remember if you chop it to fine bits the dish will be done very easily. Or if you want to chop it bigger then cook all of them together in little water for few minutes and after evaporating the water completely saute in oil.)
Later add the other vegetables one by one. Please note add onion in the last after adding and sauting beetroot and carrot or else it will burn and give a blackish appearance. Finally add green chillies and curry leaves. Add salt and a pinch of turmeric now. Saute for few more seconds till everything is cooked well. Serve with Rice.

Pachadi (raw mango)

Pachadi is another traditional Kerala Cuisine. I have a craving for all the traditional Kerala dishes and hence how can I avoid making this. But I need to wait till the next mango season to make this once again :((
Generally Pachadi is made using sour curd. but as the taste of raw mango itself is sour there is no need to add curd to this.

This is how I make this. 

Raw mango -1 big
Should be green completely inside also to get the real colour. I have got a half ripened  mango for making this, though sour and hence got a slight yellow colour in the picture I clicked.

Grated coconut -1 cup
Jeera seeds -1/4 tspn
Green chillies -5 nos
one or two small onions -optional
Grind all these into smooth paste
Once it is a paste add 1 tspn of mustard seeds and press once the mixer to break the seeds along with coconut. No need to grind it.

Cook the chopped raw mango with some salt and green chillies. Mash it nicely to a paste. Once it is done add the grinded coconut mix to this . Saute till raw smell is gone. Adjust the level of salt. In a pan heat some oil, crack a few mustard seeds (generally this is not done as its already added along with coconut. but to add a colourful look we can add this too ), also add few curry leaves, dry chillies and pour it on top of pachadi.

Rice Fryms

This is my mom's Traditional recipe. She is always an expert in making a new dish out of scratch. This one is an 'always seen ' item in my mom's Kitchen. Before the rainy season arrives she will make this , dry under sun and keep it in store ( in the glass bottles) and we as kids always used to ask her to fry this with as side dish for rice.
My Son also love this now and in that way am sure this will become any child's favourite.
Another main plus point with this dish is the ingredients required .. This is made using the left over rice( you an make this with freshly cooked rice also)  and a few spices that are already available in your kitchen any time. So whenever you have free time you can make this in your own home. the only difficulty is in drying this under the sun. So be ready to make this when you have plenty of sunlight available ie; during summer :))

Ingredients

Cooked Rice , Red chilli powder, Jeera seeds ,Asafoetida and Salt

The quantity depends on the quantity of cooked rice you take.

If you are using the left over rice of many days ,Keep it in fridge daily and when it comes to a large quantity you can make this.
Procedure:
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In a kadai heat the rice. Evaporate till dry. Add Red Chilli powder, Jeera seeds, Hing and salt as required and saute till it forms a lump. Keep on stirring to avoid charring.

Now when it is cooled grind it in a mixer to a thick paste. Using a spring hopper ( sevanazhi) squeeze it out through the 'murukku' stencil , to the desired shape on a flat plate with a cloth spread on it. Always remember to use Satin or silk cloth. dont use paper or cotton cloth as this will stick on to the fryms when dried and is unhealthy.

Now dry these in sunlight for 2-3 days or till it is breaking off easily from the cloth. Fry in hot oil and serve. We have it with rice. and it tastes excellent.

Banana Stem Thoran

There are different ways in which we can cook the Banana stem. I have tried making a thoran out of this vegetable. Recipe is same as that of any thoran .Please check my veggies label for the detailed recipe on how to prepare thoran. 

Vegetable Stew

Vegetable Stew is a good combination dish with Appam and Parathas. 

Ingredients required are

Potato - 2 nos
Carrot -1 no
Beans- 6 nos
Garlic- 6 nos
Ginger -1 inch chopped
Green peas -1/2 cup
Onion- 1 big
green chillies -6 nos
curry leaves and dhaniya leaves -few

Crushed pepper powder -2 tspn
cinnamon stick -1/2 inch size-2 nos
cloves -3 nos
cardamom -2 nos
bay leaf (optional) -1 medium
Oil - generally coconut oil is used in Kerala to prepare this dish and it gives special taste to this dish. But if you dont like coconut oil, you can use sunflower oil too.
Coconut milk - thick -2 cups ( u can also use ready made coconut milk 200 gm)

chop the vegetables to fine bits. cook them seperately with salt and crushed pepper powder 

In a kadai heat some oil, add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf. Saute well. Add the cooked vegetables. Add some water if required to make it a loose gravy. Once it starts boiling add coconut milk (thick). Cover and cook on medium flame for few minutes. Adjust the level of salt and once  it is done pour some coconut oil/sunflower oil on top in a circular motions. Sprinkle some crushed pepper (optional and for only those who love it to be more spicier) and  chopped dhaniya and curry leaves. cover for some time. Serve hot.

Moru ( Curd) curry

A simple and easiest curry to made on lazy sundays. This is highly delicious and very comforting to the stomach. In my home this is the favourite one among the members and we love making this very often. This can be had with rice only and with beetroot thorna and green gram ( cherupayar ) dry sabji this is awesome.

Ingredients required are

Thick Curd -2 cups ( should not be sour) . If you are using home made curd hand the curd on a cotton cloth for few minutes to remove off the water content in it and you will get the thick curd for this.

Turmeric powder -a pinch
Hing/Asafoetida - less than a pinch
Salt as required
For the tadka
Mustard -1 tspn
Methi seeds -a pinch
small onions -2 chopped thin
dry chillies -3-4 nos
curry leaves - few

In a pan heat some oil and and do the tadka using the above ingredients. Add a pinch of turmeric to it.  Add hing also. Switch off the flame. Add the curd to this after few seconds but when the pan is still warm. Mix well. Can add some crushed pepper on top if you love it a bit spicy.

Malai Brinjal

A very different dish that can be made using Brinjal. I got the idea from a foodie friend of mine and made the same with some difference from the original recipe. Goes well with Roti/Paratha than Rice. 

Ingredients Required :
-----------------------
Brinjal -4 nos cut into long pieces and dipped in water to remain the stain.
Big Onion -2 nos Sliced lengthwise
slit Green chillies -4
Garlic - 3-4
A small piece of ginger chopped

In a pan heat some oil and Saute the Brinjal pieces till soft and thin. ( it is even much better if you fry it ). Saute onion, garlic and ginger for few second and add slit green chillies too.

Now add the masalas one after another
 turmeric powder -1/2 tspn
chilli powder -1 tspn
Coriander powder -1 &1/2 tspn
Saute till raw smell is gone and the masalas get blended well with the vegetables. Now add gharam masala . Saute for a while and add some water and close the lid and cook. When the gravy is thick add some fresh cream say 1 cup and cook on very slow fire. till oil seperates. Adjust the level of salt too.

Kootu curry -

This is another important recipe that is an unique item in Kerala sadhya. Generaly kootu curry is made our of Yam ( chena) and Chana dhaal ( kadala parippu) .. But I try making this using Pumpkin and chana dhaal too with the same procedure and ingredients.

Recipe:

Yam -1/4 kg
Chana dhal 1 cup
grated coconut -1 cup
Jaggery - 1 inch piece

Method:
Pressure cook Yam and chana dhal with required amount of water, jaggery, 1/2 tspn turmeric powder, 1 tspn red chilli powder , salt and few curry leaves

Grind together coconut (remember to keep 2 tbspn of grated coconut for seasoning and grind the remaining), 1/4 tspn turmeric powder, a pinch of jeera seeds and 2 shallots.
One the vegetables are done open the cooker evaporated the excess water by cooking again. once the water is evaporated add the grinded coconut mixture to this and mix well allow to cook for few more minutes

Seasoning:
Heat some oil, crakc mustard seeds, add chopped shallots (3 nos) saute nicely, Add 1 0r 2 dry chillies, few curry leaves and 2 tbsp of grated coconut. roast all these in oil and pour it over the curry and mix. this is a dry sabji with flavours of coconut, dhal , jaggery and yam together. In Sadhya this is served as one out of the ten side dishes for rice

Vendakka puli -Lady's finger in tamarind gravy.. My mom's magical recipe

This is a yummiest of all Lady's finger dishes.. I generally crave for this dish when my mom makes it.. Her hand always has got a magical touch to make the dish even more tastier .. She just add the masalas in a tak- tak -tak speed and the dish will be ready in few seconds..

I mostly try this dish at my home whenever I crave for my mom's cooking

Here is the recipe. you can try this dish by adding dried fish or prawns also to this. It adds on to the taste.

Lady's finger - 1/4 kg
Grated coconut -1 cup
Turmeric powder -1 tspn
Red chilly powder - 1 & 1/2 tspn
Coriander powder - 3 tspn
Tamarind juice - 1cup made out of a lemon sized Tamarind
Small onion -2 nos
Garlic-2 -3 cloves
Jeeral - 1/4 tspn or a pinch
Coconut mil - 1/2 cup (optional)

Grind the grated coconut with 2 small onions. 2-3 garlic cloves , jeera, turmeric powder, red chilly powder,coriander powder and few curry leaves to add on the taste.

In a kadai heat some oil and saute the lady's finger cut into long bits , till the slime is dried out. Add tamarind juice to this and add some salt. Let it bring to boil and add the grinded mix of coconut.Allow it to boil. serve hot with Kerala rice. (Goes well with white steamed rice too)

Avial - Typical Kerala Dish

 this is yet another Kerala dish which is a main ingredient of sadhyas. Thanks Sajna Basant for the information and recipe ..
As the name says Avial is made using a mix of many vegetables. you can take one each or half of each vegetable of your choice and make Avial . 

There is a nice and interesting story behind the creation of Avial.. it is believed that in Dev Indra's darbar there was 

a feast and the chefs made lot many varieties of dishes using many vegetables. At the end of cooking they found that one or two pieces of each vegetable was left behind with which they aren't able to make any curry. so they decided to put all the vegetables together ,boil and make a curry out of it.. and it came out very nice and became the master of all curries in the sadhya and from then onwards sambhar and Avial are unavoidable parts of the main sadhya..

Not alone this in a survey conducted through out the world on different food styles Kerala sambhar and Avial were selected as the most nutritious foods in the word due to its simplicity, less masalas and high nutrient content.. Hai na Interesting?

this can be made too dry or in a semi-thick consistency (which I generally prefer).

Here goes the recipe:
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Vegetables of ur choice (half or 1 or 2 each if big) .I have taken
Ash gourd- 100 gm
drumstick-3 sticks
carrot- 2 nos
coccinia -3 nos
beans-2-3 nos
raw banana -1/2
snake gourd-1/2
yam -1/2
brinjal -1/2 piece
small onions - 1 cup
2-3 pieces of garlic ( this is not necessary to put but I love the taste and hence added)
green chilli slit-2-3 nos
tamarind - 1/2 lemon size ( depends on the quantity of vegetables you take.. I had only few vegetables so took just half lemon size.)

generally I use tamarind for the sourness.but this is usually made with sour curd which is added towards at the end.the curd has to be very sour and right consistency .So to avoid flops I use tamarind water.

Grind together
grated coconut-1 cup,2 small onions, less than a pinch of jeera and less than a pinch of turmeric powder

Cut all these vegetables into lengthwise and equal sizes. boil with salt ,tamarind juice and 1/2 tspn turmeric powder. cover and cook till the vegetables are done.

Now add the grinded coconut mix to this and mix thoroughly. Keep on low fire with lid on for 1-2 minutes (till the raw taste of coconut is gone) Now add 2 tbspn of oil (can use sunflower oil also) on the top. Mix well and cover . switch off the burner and can serve after 2 minutes.

Chilli Brinjal

One more Chinese recipe using Brinjal.. But I cant take the full credit on this Dish. I tried one of my friend Nitu didi's recipe at home with a little variations and it was awsome. This is how I made it

Ingredients required are

Brinjal - 3-4 nos slit lengthwise
Cut the brinjal and dip it in plain water for few minutes to remove off the stain
Onion- 2 medium cut to cubes
Capsicum - cut to cubes
Garlic - 6-7 cloves chopped to bits
Few curry leaves
Green chilly slit lengthwise -4 nos
Red chilli powder -1/2 tspn

soya sauce - 1 tspn and tomato sauce - 2 tspn

In a kadai heat some oil Saute the brinjal till thin. Add salt. Once it is half cooked, saute onions, capsicum, green chillies and garlic. Add few curry leaves too. Saute the sauces and mix everything very well. Add chilli powder now and drizzle few drops of water till brinjal is cooked well. Cover and cook till done. Serve hot with Roti or white rice

Soya granules Thoran

Its really confusing when we try to make a dish using soya chunks or soya ganules.. I tried to make this in a simple way with grated coconut and here is the recipe below. It was really tasty with minimum time required for cooking


Recipe:
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Soya granules -2 cups

grated coconut 3/4 cup
jeera powder- 1/2 a pinch
turmeric powder- 1/2 tspn
onion -1/2 of a big one
green chillies -2 -3 nos
curry leaves- few

I have used nutella brand of soya granules. cook soya in lavish amount of water for 5 minutes. squeeze out water and wash repeatedly for 4-5 times till the water coming out is clear. Remember all yellowish water has to be gone or else it will taste bitter.

Heat oil , crack some mustards, saute chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves. once a nice flavour start coming add the grated coconut saute for few seconds. add turmeric and jeera powder.saute again. now add the soya granules, mix well adn sprinkle some salt on top . mix for some 1 minute .its done