Manthanga/ Pumpkin Curry

Usually pumpkin is not in my grocery list, since it imparts a sweet taste to the curry. But when the grocery shopping was done by my better half, there comes the pumpkin to my kitchen. I had this recipe with me, which i had not tried. So tried it and it was not so bad.

Ingredients

2 cups - Pumpkin, chopped to small pieces
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - Red chili powder
Few curry leaves
Salt to taste

To grind

1/2 cup - Freshly grated coconut
3 to 4 - Big shallots/ small onion

To crush & powder

4 to 5 - Big garlic flakes, crushed
1/4 tsp - Perumjeerakam / Fennel seeds, powdered

Season

1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
3 to 4 - Big shallots, chopped
2 tbsp - Grated coconut
2 - Dry red chili
Coconut oil

Method

1 ) Cook chopped pumpkin in enough water ( 1 to 1.5 cup ) along with turmeric powder, red chili powder, curry leaves and salt to taste. Cook till pumpkin is well cooked.

2 ) Grind the coconut and shallot without adding any water. If needed add 1 or 2 tbsp water and grind - but not to very smooth paste. It can be slightly coarse.

3 ) Add the ground paste to the pumpkin pan and bring to a boil. Add little water, if only it is necessary. The gravy should not be watery. When it is starting to boil, add crushed garlic and perumjeerakam powder. Adjust salt to taste and bring to a boil. Take off the stove.

4 ) Heat a pan with coconut oil. Add mustard seeds and pop it, then add shallots, red chili and coconut. Fry till the shallot and coconut turns lightly brown. Pour this seasoning over the pumpkin curry and cover with a lid.

Serve as a side dish with steamed white rice and to complete the menu have something spicy like a fried fish and pappad.

Bottle gourd Khichadi

Bottle gourd is an easily available and common vegetable. It's got many beneficial values, when consumed cooked or uncooked. Here is a khichadi, just like a pachadi made out of this vegetable.

Ingredients

1 Medium size - Bottle gourd,peeled & chopped to small pieces
1 cup - Thick creamy & sour yogurt/curds
Salt to taste

Grind to a paste

3/4 to 1 cup - Freshly grated Coconut
4 - Green chili
4 to 5 - Garlic flakes
1'' piece - Ginger
1/2 tsp - Jeera
1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds

Seasoning

1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
2 to 3 - Dry red chili
1 to 2 sprigs - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) First boil chopped bottle gourd pieces in enough water, till it's well cooked.

2 ) Grind coconut, green chili, ginger, garlic and jeera to a smooth paste with little water. Then add mustard seeds and pulse 2 to 3 times to crush the mustard seeds.

3 ) Add the paste to the cooked bottle gourd. Bring to a a slight boil on medium heat. Add salt to taste. Turn off the stove. Then add yogurt ( beat/ blend yogurt well and then add )

4 ) Heat a pan with little sesame oil. Add mustard seeds and pop it. Then add red chili and curry leaves. Fry for second and then pour this seasoning on top of the cooked khichadi. Cover with a lid immediately.


Serve with rice as a side dish.

Seasoned Ripe Mango & Raw Mango Chutney

I just wait for the mango season to fulfill my mango craving. Season started off with all the sour mangoes and some ripened mango, that was watery in taste. I think i will have to wait till june to get some juicy and delicious ripe mangoes. Here is a ripe mango recipe and a sour raw mango recipe. Both are so contrary in taste. Of course if you get some good delicious ripe mangoes, just eat it as it is. That's the best ! But if you like your ripe mango spiced up then try this seasoned ripe mango recipe.

Ingredients

3 big - Ripe mangoes, chopped to small pieces
1 tsp - Red chili powder
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 tbsp - Grated jaggery

Coarsely grind

3/4 cup - Fresh coconut

1/4 tsp - Jeera /cumin

1/4 tsp - Mustard seeds,crushed

Salt to taste

Seasoning

1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds

2 - Dry red chili

1 or 2 sprigs - Curry leaves

Coconut oil

Method

1 ) Cut the mango into small pieces. Coarsely grind, coconut, jeera in a blender. Then add mustard seeds and pulse 2- 3 times.

2 ) In a pan heat a cup of water add, chili powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Add mango pieces and cook mango for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add grated jaggery and let it melt in.

3 ) Mix the ground ingredients with the cut mango and mix. Cook for 2 minutes more and turn off the stove.

3 ) To season - Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and pop it, then add chili and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning on the mango and mix.

Serve as a side dish.

Now the Mango Chutney is done with sour raw mango. The combination of other ingredients with the sourness kicks it up a notch.

Ingredients

1 - Sour raw mango

5 - Dry red chili

1 tbsp - chana dal

1 tbsp - Urad dal

1 big pinch - Asafoetida powder

Salt to taste

Sesame oil

Method

1 ) Remove the skin off the mango and grate it. In a pan heat 1 tbsp sesame oil, add the grated mango and fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from pan, cool and then transfer to a blender.

2 ) Add some oil and fry the chana dal, urad dal, red chili and asafoetida. Fry the dals to light brown color. Turn off the stove and cool. Transfer the ingredients into the blender. Add salt to taste and grind all the ingredients to a paste.

If the taste is too sour, then heat little oil and add a pinch of asafoetida fry it for a second and then pour over the chutney and mix in well.

Serve as a side dishes with roti, rice, dosa or idli.

Elephant Yam - Chena Masala Curry

Wonder how this vegetable got the name elephant yam. Now this is called chena in Malayalam. A very naadan taste is achieved in this recipe, where masala ingredients are roasted and ground. Replace yam with potato and make a potato masala curry.

Ingredients

400 gm - Chena/ suran/ elephant yam, cut to smaller cubes

3 to 4 - Green chili, slit in center

2''piece - Ginger, finely chopped

2 medium size - Tomato, chopped

Roast & Grind to smooth paste

3/4 cup - Freshly grated coconut

1 piece - Cinnamon stick

4 to 6 - Clove

1 - Star anise

5 to 6 big - Garlic

4 to 5 - Shallots / small onions

4 to 5 - Whole dry red chili

2 tbsp - Coriander powder

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

Garnish

1 tsp - Mustard seeds

1/2 cup - Shallots/ small onions, chopped

1/4 cup - Coconut chopped, thenga kottu

3 to 4 sprigs - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) Pressure cook chena with ginger, green chili, tomato and salt to taste, adding enough water. Pressure cook for one whistle.

2 ) In a kadai, fry & roast grated coconut, on medium to low heat. Add cinnamon, clove, star anise, dry red chili, garlic and shallots. Add little coconut oil in between roasting, for good taste and flavor. Fry till the coconut turns light to medium brown in color. Now add coriander powder and turmeric powder. Further fry till the powders changes color to a slight darker shade. Take off the stove and cool.

3 ) When cool, grind to a smooth paste with enough water. Now add this coconut paste to the cooked chena. Add enough water for the gravy. Add salt to taste and some curry leaves. Bring to a boil and take off the stove.

4 ) Meanwhile, in a kadai, add coconut oil and pop the mustard seeds. Then add, coconut bits, small onion and fry to a light brown color. Add rest of the curry leaves and fry for a second. Garnish the curry with this and stir in. Serve hot with rice. Serve as a side dish with rice or roti.

Vishu and a Koottu Curry

The Malayalam new year, Vishu is celebrated on the first day of medam masam (Malayalam month ) It generally falls on 14th or 15th of April. This year it's on April 15th. Very early in the morning, i woke to light the lamp and then woke rest of the family to see the auspicious Vishukkani.

Later in the day starts preparation for a small sadhya. This koottu curry is a combination of vegetables and chana dal, that when seasoned is delicious and will be a good add to the sadhya dishes.

Ingredients

1 cup - Chana dal

1 and 1/4 cup - Chena /suran/yam, cut to small cubes.

1 and 1/4 cup - White pumpkin, cut to small cubes

1 and 1/4 cup - Red pumpkin, cut to small cubes

1 - Raw banana, cut to small cubes

Salt to taste

To roast and grind

1 tbsp - Coriander seeds

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

8 - Whole dry red chili

3 - Pepper corn

1 tsp - Urad dal

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds

2 to 4 - Dry red chili, broken into two

8 - Shallots, sliced

3 sprigs - Curry leaves

1/2 cup - Freshly grated coconut

Coconut oil

Method

1 ) Soak chana dal for 2 hours in enough water. Transfer the dal to a pressure cooker, add 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 5 minutes. Now turn off the stove and cool. Then open the cooker and add the vegetables. Add salt to taste and again pressure cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off the stove and cool.

2 ) Meanwhile, roast the ingredients listed to roast in little coconut oil. Then powder and grind to a smooth paste with little water.

3 ) Add this masala paste to the cooked dal and veggies. Simmer and bring to a boil. Adjust salt to taste.

4 ) Now heat a pan with coconut oil to season. Add mustard seeds and let it pop. Then add dry red chili and fry it for a second then add onion and curry leaves. Let the onion light brown in color. Then add the grated coconut and fry the coconut to a light brown color. Add more coconut oil, if necessary. Pour this seasoning on top of the cooked dal and veggies and mix in. Close with a lid immediately to capture the aroma inside the pan.

Serve as a side dish with rice. Wishing every one a Happy Vishu !

Check out the malabar style koottu curry preparation here

Masala Curry With Paneer, Peas & Potato

Combination of veggies with paneer adds flavor. A simple to make masala curry that will be good with rice or roti.

Ingredients

1 medium - Potatoes,cubed
1 cup - Green Peas
500 gm - Paneer, cut to cubes
2 pods - Green cardamom,
1 big - Star Anise
2 medium - Onion, sliced
4 - Green chili, slit in center
3 medium - Tomato, chopped

1'' piece - Ginger, chopped

Masala powders

2 tbsp - Coriander powder
1 tsp - Red chili powder
1 tsp - Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp - Black pepper powder

Grind to a smooth paste

1/2 a small shell - Fresh coconut

1/2 tsp - Jeera/ cumin seeds

1 small piece - Cinnamon

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds

4 - Dry red chili,

1 medium - Onion. chopped finely

3 to 4 sprigs - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) Add to an utensil, potato, peas, green chili, ginger, onion, cardamom, star anise and the masala powders. Now add enough water to cover and cook the vegetables.

2 ) When the veggies are half cooked, add tomato and salt to taste. Simmer, cover and cook till the vegetables are fully cooked.

3 ) Grind coconut, jeera and cinnamon with little water to a smooth paste. Add this paste to the cooked veggies. Add more water if needed for the gravy. Adjust salt to taste. Simmer and cook.

4 ) Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat some oil. Add paneer cubes and fry to a light brown color. Transfer and add the fried paneer to the curry. In the remaining oil, do the seasoning. First pop the mustard seeds, than add dry chili, curry leaves and fry for second. Then add onion and fry to a light brown color. Pour this seasoning over the curry and close with a lid. Turn off the stove. After 5 minutes open the lid and serve the masala curry.



Serve as a side dish with rice or roti.

Kumbalanga / Ash Gourd Moru Curry

Trying to recapture a favorite moru curry that my amma prepares, that i used to love having with some fish fry and rice. It's a lovely combination of flavors. Every time i buy Ash gourd, i call up my amma to ask for all the ingredients she puts in, for that special taste. Then i forget the ingredients, the next time i buy a Kumbalam. So this time i thought it's best to blog this recipe and save it. Green chili adds special taste to this moru curry.Here is a moru curry i grew up having and hopefully anyone trying this recipe enjoys it too.

Ingredients

2 cups - Kumbalanga, diced to small pieces

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

1/4 tsp - Red chili powder

Salt to taste

Grind to a paste

3/4 cup - Freshly grated coconut

6 to 8 - Indian green chili ( or as to taste )

1/4 tsp - Jeera /cumin seeds

1 cup - Thick creamy & sour yogurt

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp - Fenugreek /Uluva/ methi seeds

4 to 5 - Dry red chili

3 to 4 sprigs - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) In an utensil, bring to a boil about 1.5 cup water. Add kumbalam pieces, turmeric, chili powder and salt to taste. Cook on medium heat till the pieces are cooked.

2 ) Grind coconut, green chili and jeera in a blender. Then add curd and grind to a smooth paste.

3 ) Add the ground paste / mixture to the cooked pumpkin. Adjust salt to taste. Bring the curry- just to a boil and immediately turn off the stove.

4 ) Heat a pan with sesame oil. Add mustard and fenugreek seeds. Let the mustard pop and fenugreek seeds brown. Once done, add dry chili, curry leaves and fry lightly. Pour this seasoning over the moru curry and immediately close with a lid so that all the aroma stays in the curry.

Serve hot with rice, pappad and fish fry.

Punjabi Masala Stuffed Tinda

Tinda, a vegetable more widely used in the northern part of India, looks more or less like a green tomato. They are also called as Indian round gourd or apple gourd. Here is an interesting recipe i had noted down long time back from a friend. Got to try it now when i got some fresh tinda, that i could slit to stuff masala powder in.

Ingredients

400 grams / About 8 to 9 - Fresh Tinda

Dry masala powders

1 tsp - Coriander powder
1/2 tsp - red chili powder
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 to 1.5 tsp - Amchur powder / dry mango powder
1/4 tsp - Black pepper powder
1/2 tsp - Garam masala powder
1/4 tsp - Dry ginger powder
1/4 tsp - Hing powder
1 tsp - Fennel powder/ Saunf powder
Salt to taste

Seasoning

1/4 tsp - Jeera/ cumin seeds
2 medium - Onion, thinly sliced
1 cup - Coriander leaves, finely chopped

Method

1 ) Scrap the tinda skin off. Slit them slightly vertically and horizontally like a cross. Remove any hard seeds. Mix all the dry masala powders listed above together. Add salt to taste and mix well.

2 ) Now stuff this dry masala powder into the slits of the tinda, like in the picture below. Save the extra masala powder towards the end.

3 ) Heat a flat bottom pan with oil. Add jeera and splutter jeera. Then place the masala powder stuffed tinda in the pan and cook on low heat covered with a lid.

4 ) Check if the tinda is cooked and fried on the bottom. Then carefully turn over and cook on the other side. Cook till tinda is tender and browned lightly. Scoop the tinda off the oil and transfer to a plate. To the remaining oil add the onion and fry it to light brown color. Then add the remaining masala powder and fry for a second. Adjust salt to taste. Now place the cooked tinda back into the pan. Stir onion and tinda to mix in . Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roti.

Vazha Pindi Thoran - Banana Stem Stir Fry

Banana plant is one plant, whose all parts are used either to eat or to serve food / wrap food. On the whole this plants fruit, flower and stem has natural benefits and curative properties. The plant is chopped off once it bears fruit. Mostly the stem is discarded. But then this stem is rich in fibre.Banana stem when peeled, the inner creamy core is edible and can be used to make delicious dishes.
Banana stem - cut and chopped to small pieces, in picture.
Cut the stem in round, slowly move the knife away, you will see fibre. Clean the fiber off the stem on each round cut and then chop to small pieces. Put the chopped stem into water to stop discoloration.


Ingredients

4 cups - Vazha pindi, chopped
1/4 cup - Toor dal ( soak for one hour )
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Coarsely Crush

1/2 cup - Freshly grated Coconut
2 to 3 - Green chili

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds
1 tsp - Urad dal
3 to 4 sprigs - Curry leaves
Coconut oil

Method
1 ) Chop the banana stem to small pieces. To a pan add chopped banana stem, toor dal, turmeric powder, salt to taste and about 1.5 cup water. Cover and cook on low heat till the dal and banana stem is cooked and tender. Alternatively, you can pressure cook banana stem and dal in little water for 1 to 2 whistles. If pressure cooking, you do not have to soak toor dal.

2 ) Heat coconut oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds and urad dal. Pop the mustard seeds and lightly brown the urad dal. Then add curry leaves and the cooked banana stem and dal. To this add the coarsely ground coconut and green chili. Stir and mix all the ingredients. Now stir and dry off any excess water. Add little coconut oil towards the end, stir and fry for a minute. Take off the stove and serve.

Serve with rice as a side dish.

Methi Matar with Paneer Pulao

My kitchen was filled with this wonderful aroma of, spices and basmati rice, which lingered in my kitchen for so long. So inviting was the aroma and subtle was the taste of methi, with matar and paneer.

Ingredients


For Rice

2 cups - Basmati rice (used India gate,super brand )
2 - Green Cardamom
1 - Black cardamom/ Badi Elachi
3 to 4 - Cloves
A small - Cinnamon Stick
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients

250 grams - Paneer cubes
1/2 tsp - Jeera Seeds
4 medium - Onion, finely sliced
4 to 6 - Green chili
1.5'' piece - Ginger
1/4 cup - Garlic Or one medium bulb
1 big - Tomato, crushed /puree
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 to 1.5 cup - Methi / Fenugreek leaves
1 cup - Matar / Green Peas
Salt to taste
Ghee or oil

Method

1 ) Bring to a boil 4 to 5 cups of water in a big pan, add green & black cardamom, clove, cinnamon stick, salt to taste and little ghee to the water. Now add washed basmati rice to the water and cook till rice is cooked. Take off the stove and drain off excess water.

2 ) Coarsely grind green chili- ginger and garlic to a paste. Wash methi leaves well, then chop it. Heat a kadai /wok. Add some ghee and fry paneer cubes to a light brown color on all sides. Drain off oil and transfer to a plate.Then add sliced onion and fry till onion turns brown in color. Drain and transfer to a plate.

3 ) In the remaining oil( add more if need), add jeera and fry for a second. Then add chili-ginger-garlic paste and fry on low heat till it turns lightly brown. Now add turmeric powder, matar and methi leaves. Stir and fry for a minute. Then add tomato puree, salt to taste, close with a lid and cook on low heat till peas is cooked. Add little water to cook peas if needed.

4 ) Once the peas is cooked, add fried paneer cubes to the kadai and cook for a minute. Adjust salt to taste. Turn off the stove. Now add the cooked rice and fried onion little by little. Stir, toss and mix all the ingredients. Transfer the pulao into a microwave safe bowl and warm the pulao.This will evenly distribute the flavors.

Now serve in platter, garnish with some fried onions.

Serve pulao with raita and pappad.

Chemmeen Roast

It's been 4 years of blogging and i hardly took a break. When i did take a break, i felt so lazy and not motivated enough to get back to blogging. Now here i am, hoping some of you missed me and looking forward to some more posts from me :) A dear friend ' S ' shared with me this chemmeen roast recipe. I was delighted by the taste and wanted to blog immediately.

Ingredients

50 to 60 counts - Prawns, big size
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

To crush

1 - Green chili
1'' piece - Ginger
8 to 10 flakes - Garlic

Other Ingredients

3/4 cup - Shallots / Small onion, chopped
3 tbsp - Coconut chopped to bits, (thenga kothu )
2.5 to 3 tsp - Coriander powder
1/2 tsp - Red chili powder/ kashmiri chili powder
1 to 1.5 tsp - Black pepper powder
1/2 to 3/4 tsp - Fennel / perumjeera powder
3 to 4 stalks - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) Devein and clean prawns well. Add turmeric powder, salt and mix well. Cook prawns, covered with a lid, on low heat till cooked. Take off stove.

2 ) In a kadai / wok, add coconut oil and warm it up. Now add shallots, coconut bits and fry till onion turns pinkish. Now add green chili- garlic-ginger crushed to the pan and fry till it turns lightly brown. Now add coriander powder, red chili powder and pepper powder. Lightly fry the powders in coconut oil.

3 ) Add cooked prawns, stir and mix in with the ingredients. Adjust salt to taste. Add curry leaves little by little in between. Then sprinkle fennel powder, little by little. Stir and fry the prawns, adding more coconut oil. Fry till the prawns turns brownish.



Serve hot as a side dish.

Varutharacha Kozhi Curry - Chicken in Roasted Coconut Gravy

For a varutharacha kozhi curry, a naadan chicken meat will be the best tasting one than the broiler chicken. Naadan chicken needs more cooking time than broiler chicken. I was not aware of the different breeds /types of chicken, other than broiler and naadan /desi chicken. Now there is something called english chicken, where the meat is more like naadan chicken meat and need more cooking time and this meat is really good for making a curry like this.

Ingredients

1 kilo - Chicken, cut to small pieces

1 big - Potato, quartered

1 big - Tomato, quartered

2'' piece - Ginger

6 big - Garlic

1/2 cup - Shallots / Small red onion

2 - Green chili, slit in center

1/2 tsp -Pepper powder

2 to 3 stalks - Curry leaves

To roast & grind to smooth paste

1 to 1.5 cup - Freshly grated coconut

4 - Star anise

2 small stick - Cinnamon sticks

3 - Cloves

2 - Green cardamom seeds

3 tbsp - Coriander powder

1 tsp - Red chili powder

1 tsp - Turmeric powder

Garnishing

8 to 10 big - Shallots

3 stalks - Curry leaves

Coconut oil

Method

1 ) Wash chicken well and drain. Coarsely crush, ginger, then garlic, then shallots in a blender.

2 ) Heat coconut oil in a cooker, add curry leaves, then coarsely crushed, ginger-garlic- shallot and green chili. Fry in the oil till light brown in color. Add potato pieces, stir and fry for few minutes. Then add chicken pieces, pepper powder, tomato, salt to taste and stir and fry for a minute. Then add enough water to cook the chicken. Close the cooker with its lid and pressure cook for 15 minutes.

2 ) Meanwhile, heat a kadai /wok with little coconut oil, add grated coconut, star anise, cinnamon, clove, cardamom seed and fry/roast on low heat till the coconut turns deep brown in color. Now add coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder. Stir and fry till the powders turn to a deep brown color on low heat. Cool and grind to a smooth paste with little water.

3 ) Open the cooker and check if the meat is well cooked. If not simmer and cook for little more time with lid open. Add the ground coconut masala to the the cooked chicken, add enough water for the gravy and bring to a boil. Add curry leaves and stir.

4 ) In the side, heat coconut oil in the kadai/ wok and fry the shallots to a deep brown color. Pour this browned shallots with oil on top of the chicken curry and garnish it.

Serve hot with rice, appam, pathiri or puttu.

Homemade Popcorn

I popped some pop corn and thought of sharing it here with all of you. Smeared with some utterly, butterly delicious butter and seasoned with salt, it's good to go. Now you can flavor the pop corn as to your taste. Add chili powder to make it spicy, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese to make it cheesy. Whatever it is, there is one ingredient, that add a lot of flavor to the pop corn and that is the coconut oil. I remember watching food network channel, where they mentioned to use coconut oil to get the same taste to the pop corn that is made at the movies.

Ingredients

1/2 cup - Corn Kernels
3 to 4 tbsp - Coconut oil
2 to 3 tbsp - Butter
Salt to taste

Method

1 ) Use a cooker or a heavy bottom utensil with tight lid to make the pop corn. Heat coconut oil in the cooker. Let the oil heat up on medium- high heat. To test if the oil is hot enough for the kernels to pop, add 2-3 kernels to the oil and once it pops, the oil is ready.

2 ) Add the kernels to the cooker and close with a tight lid. Once the kernels starts popping, shake the cooker back and forth to evenly pop the kernels. Once the popping slows down, turn off the stove. Transfer the pop corn to another big enough utensil. Melt butter and pour over the pop corn, toss, sprinkle salt to taste. Toss well to get the butter and salt evenly on all corns.

Now enjoy this home made pop corn.