Mambazha Pulissery - Ripe Mango Curry

This curry is made with ripe mangoes. It's sweet and sour in taste.Really a tasty curry to try out. Use a extra ripe mango to make this pulissery.

Ingredients

2 - Ripe mango, cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - Red chili powder
1 cups - Water
2 cups - Thick yogurt / curds
salt to taste

Grind to paste

1 cup - Grated coconut ( fresh )
1/2 tsp - Jeera / cumin seeds
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
2 - green chili

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds
1/4 tsp - Fenugreek seeds / Uluva
4 - Dry whole red chili
Curry leaves
Oil

Method

1 ) Cook cut ripe mangoes in one cup water with red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cook till mango pieces are well cooked and can be mashed. Mash a bit of the pieces.

2 ) Meanwhile grind to a paste the ingredients listed to be ground with half the yogurt. Add 2 to 3 leaves of curry leaves also while grinding in the end.

3 ) Add to the cooked mango, whip the remaining yogurt and add to the pulissery. Mix well. Adjust salt as per taste. Bring to a boil and cook for a minute. Don't allow the yogurt to curdle.Take off the stove.
4 ) Heat oil for seasoning in a pan. Add mustard and after it pops add fenugreek seeds, dry red chili and curry leaves. Add this seasoning to the pulissery.

Serve as a side dish with rice. Enjoy this delicious pulissery. This will make a good addition to Onam Sadhya.

Beetroot Pachadi

Beetroot has a vegetable has notable amount of sweetness to it.
Both the root and leaves have good nutritional value. It's low in calories and fat. It's a good source of fiber.
In Indian cooking beetroot is seasoned and flavored with different spices.

Here is a recipe making use of both the root and the leaves.

Ingredients

1 - Beetroot with leaves
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

To grind to a paste

1 cup - Grated coconut
2 - Green chili
1/2 tsp - Mustard
1/4 tsp - jeera1/2 tsp - Ginger or very small piece of ginger
2 cup - Curd/ yogurt ( medium sour )


Seasoning1 tsp - Mustard4- Red chili ( whole )
Curry leaves
Oil



Method

1 ) Chop and dice beetroot and the leaves into small pieces. In a pot add one cup water,turmeric, salt and the chopped beetroot and leaves. Cook till the beetroot is fully cooked.
2 ) Grind the ingredients listed to be ground (except the yogurt) to a paste with water.
3) Add the ground paste to the cooked beetroot and cook for 2 minutes. Take off the stove and cool.
4 ) Whip the yogurt well and mix in with the cooked beetroot.
5 ) Season with mustard, red chili and curry leaves. Add to the beetroot.

Serve with rice.

NoteUse freshly grated coconut.

A variations to this recipe is Dhanya's Beetroot kichadi

Vellarikka / Cucumber Pachadi

Ingredients

Vellarikka or Cucumber / English cucumber
To grind to a paste

3- Green chili

small piece - Ginger
1/2 tsp - Mustard
1 cup - Grated Coconut
2 cups - Thick creamy yogurt (medium sour)
Salt to taste

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard
Curry leaves
2- whole dry red chili
Oil

Method
1 ) Peel the skin & remove seeds off the cucumber and cut into small pieces.

2 ) Cook cucumber with one to two table spoon of water and salt, covered on a low heat, till cucumber is cooked. Take off the stove. Drain off any excess water.

3 ) Grind coconut, ginger & green chili. Then add mustard and pulse for two to three times. Add little yogurt to grind to a smooth paste. Whip rest of the yogurt and set aside.

4 ) Add the ground mixture to the cooked cucumber, place on stove and just bring to a boil. Take off stove and cool.

5 ) Add whipped yogurt to the cooled cucumber pachadi and mix well. Adjust salt to taste.

6 ) Season with mustard, curry leaves and whole red chili.

Cucumber pachadi is mild in spices and not very spicy. Serve it as a side dish with rice.Yogurt made with whole milk, with all the cream, gives a delicious creamy taste to this dish. This will make a good addition to Onam sadhya.

Nenthra Kaya & Pazham Recipes

Nenthra Kaya as is known in Malayalam, is the raw green plantain. Good source of fibre, potassium, vitamin C, contains no cholesterol and is low in sodium.
The raw plantain is cooked as a vegetable, which is very nutritious. Here is a simple recipe.

Nenthra Kaya Mezhukkupuratti / Upperi - Raw Plantain fry

Ingredients

3 - Raw plantain, cut into 3 parts & chop lengthwise with skin
5 - Green chili, slit in center
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
Curry leaves
3 tbsp - Coconut oil
1 cup - water
Salt

Method

1 ) In a pan pour water,add the chopped plantains,turmeric powder,green chili,curry leaves and salt. Cook till plantains are well cooked and all the water is absorbed.
2 ) Add coconut oil and stir.
Serve as a side dish.

When the plantains becomes ripe, then sweet treats can be made of it. Here is a popular snack recipe.

Pazham Pori - Ripe Plantain Fritters

Ingredients

4 - Ripe plantains
1 cup - maida / all purpose flour
1/4 cup - rice flour
3 tbsp - sugar
a pinch of turmeric powder or saffron if you have some
a pinch of salt
oil to fry

Method

1) Peel the skin off the ripe plantain and cut into two parts. Then cut each part into 3- 4 slices,lengthwise.
2 )Mix maida, rice powder(to make it crispy) sugar, turmeric powder and salt. Make a thick batter.
3) Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Dip the sliced plantains in the batter and deep fry till golden brown in colour.

Serve with evening tea.......Its a very popular snack in kerala.

Murungakai ulli Sambar - Drumstick & Shallot Sambar

Kerala style spicy and delicious Murungakai ulli Sambar - Drumstick and shallot sambar
Ingredients

1 cup - Tuvar dal
2 - Drumstick chopped
10 - shallots ( do not chop- cook as whole)
2 - Tomatoes, cut into 4 pieces
2 - green chilli, slit in center
lime size - Tamarind
one bunch coriander leaves, washed and chopped
Salt

Sambar masala ingredients

1/2 cup - grated coconut
1 tsp - urad dal
1 tsp - channa dal
1 tsp - cumin /jeera
1/2 tsp - fenugreek seeds/ methi
1/2 tsp - asafoetida / hing
4 - pepper corns
2 - garlic flakes chopped
6 - curry leaves
1 tsp - red chilli powder
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
4 tsp - coriander powder
Sesame oil

Seasoning

1 tsp - mustard seeds
3 whole red chilli
curry leaves

Method

1 ) Cook one cup tuvar dal in enough water. When the dal is half cooked add drumstick,shallots tomatoes,green chilli and salt. Cook till dal and vegetables are well cooked.

2 ) Extract tamarind juice and add to cooked dal and vegetables. Add chopped coriander leaves.

3 ) Meanwhile in a nonstick pan, heat sesame oil, add urad dal,channa dal, jeera, fenugreek,pepper corn,asafoetida , fry for 2 minutes. Cook on low heat.Then add garlic, curry leaves, grated coconut and fry till coconut is light brown in color. Now add chilli powder,turmeric powder and coriander powder. Fry for 2 minutes and take off stove. Cool and grind to a smooth paste.

4 ) Add the ground masala to the cooked dal and vegetables. Add water to get a curry consistency. Add salt as required.

5 ) Season with mustard, red chilli and curry leaves.

Different vegetables can be used to make sambar. The sambar masala ingredients being the same. Coconut gives sambar a delicious taste.There are different ways of making sambar..this is my way. A tasty and nutritious pure vegetarian south Indian dish.

Pineapple Pulissery

Ingredients
2 cups - Pineapple cut into pieces
2 - Green chili
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 cup - Yogurt / Curds
Salt to taste
Grind to Paste

1 cup - Grated coconut ( fresh )
1/2 tsp - Jeera / cumin seeds
2 - Green chili

For seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard
4 - whole red chili
1/4 tsp - Fenugreek seeds / methi
Curry leaves
Coconut oil

Method:
1 ) Boil pineapple with 2 green chili, turmeric powder and salt.

2 ) Grind and make a paste of coconut, jeera, 2 green chili, 2 - 3 curry leaves with little water.
3 ) Add to the cooked pineapple. Also add whipped yogurt, mix well and bring to a boil. Cook for a minute. Take off stove.

4 ) For seasoning - heat oil in a pan, add mustard. When it pops, add fenugreek seeds, whole red chili and curry leaves. Add to the pulissery.

Serve as a side dish with rice.

Avial

Ingredients Vegetables likes Raw banana, white pumpkin,drumstick,carrots,beans,chena(yam) string beans.
2 -green chili
1/2 tsp - red chili powder
1/4 tsp - turmeric powder
Grind Coarsely
1 cup - freshly grated coconut
1/2 tsp - Jeera / cumin
1 - shallot / small onion
2 - green chili
Small piece - ginger
5 tsp - yogurt / curds
2 sprigs - curry leaves
2 tsp - coconut oil
salt to taste
Method
1 ) Cut vegetables to small pieces in equal proportion. Cook vegetables with turmeric powder, red chili powder, 2 green chili, salt and little water.

2 ) Grind coarsely coconut, jeera, small onion, ginger, 2 green chili and curry leaves. Grind lightly(don't make a paste) Add this mixture to the cooked vegetables and mix in well.

3 ) Add curds and little coconut oil. Adjust salt as to taste and take off the stove

This is a dry Avial...not much gravy in it. This will make a good addition to Onam sadhya.