Masicha Keerai (Mashed Spinach)

After a long summer break, I am back. Due to travel and other pre-occupations, I could not update this blog. Today, I begin with a very simple preparation of greens (spinach, keerai in Tamil) as a side dish which is very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. Fresh greens (arai keerai or thandu keerai) – 2 or 3 bunches.
2. Red chillies- 3.
3. Hing (powdered) – ½ tea spoonful.
4. Black gram dhal – 1 spoon.
5. Oil to season – 1or 2 spoons.
6. Mustard seeds.
7. Salt to taste.

Procedure:

1. Clean and wash the greens in water. Care should be taken to wash the greens thoroughly in a vessel containing water at least twice. Allow the water to drain and mince. Cook the greens in a vessel in just sufficient quantity of water for about 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Add salt and the hing and remove from fire. Mash the cooked greens thoroughly till they become soft and pasty. This should be done when it is still hot. A traditional wooden churning rod called keerai mathu can then be used to mash the greens.

3. Heat a frying pan, pour the oil and when the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dhal and the red chillies broken into pieces. Sauté till the the urad dhal turns into golden brown and pour into the cooked greens.

This dish is known as keerai masiyal and goes well with rice and vaththa kuzhambu, as well as uppuchar.  Hope you enjoy it!

 

Chakka (Jackfruit) Pradhaman

It is April now when we Indians will be celebrating the new year day according to Hindu calendar. This year all the four southern states celebrate the new year day in April itself, a rare phenomenon . The new year (Ugadi) festivities of Andhra and Karnataka fall on the same day on 7th of April, followed by Tamil new year on 13th and Vishu on 14th of April this year.

Since the Tamil new yearday and Vishu fall mostly on the same day, we used to celebrate the festivities of both . Vishu is celebrated in Kerala in a unique fashion in homes and temples as well, characterised by the vishukkani . The arrangement of vishukkani used to be managed by the elders (mainly ladies) of the family on the previous night itself. On the day of Vishu, the youngsters and children are conducted to see the vishukkani in their homes – first thing after waking up early in the morning.

Vishukkaniorukkal used to be done in an artistic manner in many houses.The pooja room is arranged neatly with kolam and flowers in front of God’s pictures. Then a traditional vessel used in Kerala, uruli, is filled with grains of rice, accompanied by dhal, green vegetables , coconuts, yellow bananas in bowls and plates and the bunch of the yellow konnaippu , a flower which blossoms during this part of the year. A mirror is placed in between the god’s photos and the kani settings and if possible, some gold chains are hanged in the mirror and a small bowl of rupee coins is placed in front of it. Oil lamps are lit and incense sticks are burnt for a divine atmosphere.

It is believed that It is auspicious to wake up to see the nice things of prosperity and plenty in such an atmosphere on a new year day, so that the whole of that year augurs the good things of life. So everyone observes the vishukkanikaanal, ie:’seeing this beautiful arrangement’, and prostrates before the Gods as the first thing on a new year day. Children are given rupee coins as a small token gift. House maids, the regular vendors of vegetables, paperboys, dhobis and almost whoever from the neighbourhood visits the house on a new year day will be bestowed with the vishukkaineetam, the cash or coin gifted by elders.

There will be pooja and a feast on the later part of the day.The lunch is usually a grand feast, typical three course iyer lunch consisting of rice, veppampu pachadi, which is a compulsory item, followed by curds pachadi, koottu, avial, poriyal, sambar, rasam, appalam, vadai, payasam, buttermilk and pickles.

The payasam is a speciality of kerala cooking , though it is prepared in other states also. There are more payasam varieties other than the usual palpayasam and semia payasam prepared out of milk and sugar. The payasams or pradhamans prepared out of jaggery, coconut milk and fruits like jackfruit, bananas and rice adais require elaborate procedures which are simplified a lot , thanks to the modern cooking gadgets. I think of the jack fruit payasam or chakka pradahaman which has a special flavour of its own without the cardamoms and cashews.I would like to share my limited experience of preparing this item.

Ingredients:

1. Jack fruit pieces- 10.
2. coconut – 1( big) .
3. Jaggery- 2cups.
4. Ghee – 2 tablespoons.
5. Cardamom- 4 or5.
6. Cashews – few (handful) .

Preparation:

1. Cut the jack fruit into convenient size and steam cook for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool. In the meanwhile, dissolve the jaggery in 1cup of water and melt it, filter and continue to heat in low fire.
2. Now mash the cooked jack fruit pieces into a paste in a mixer and saute it in 1 spoon of ghee in a thick bottomed vessel, in which the payasam is to be made. Add the liquid jaggery to it and continue to cook it in low flame till both items blend together into a semi solid consistency. Put off the fire.
3. Grate the coconut and extract the milk by adding 1 cup of water in a mixer and keep aside . Add 1and a 1/2 cups of water to the gratings (from which milk has already been extracted) and extract coconut milk again and keep this diluted coconut milk separately.
4. Add the second extract of coconut milk first, stir well , and bring to a boil on low fire. Now turn off the heat and add the first concentrate milk. Note that after adding the first concentrate, the payasam should not be heated.
5. Heat the remaining ghee in a frying pan, fry the cashews and cardamom powder and add to the payasam for garnishing.

The jack fruit payasam is ready to be served for the feast.

Note :- Nowadays the preparation of this payasam is made easy due to the availability of jackfruit jam called chakkavaratti in markets in Kerala which can be used in preparing this dish avoiding the first 2 steps.

Have a happy new year.

Thengai Araitha Kuzhambu

Today I felt like preparing another variety of kuzhambu, the preparation of which is more or less similar to that of Pulingari. The main base is a mixture of tamarind and coconut and the vegtables used are usually brinjals, ladies fingers, and especially raw bananas, which give it a special flavour and taste. This recipe was handed over by my husband’s grandma and so we fondly call it “patti kozhambu” in our family.

Ingredients:

1. 1 or 2 of the above mentioned vegetables – 200 grams, washed and cut into 2″ pieces.
2. Tamarind (washed and soaked)- equal to that of a medium sized lemon.
3. Coconut gratings – 2 tablespoons or 1/2 cup approximately.
4. Thuvar dhal – 1 tablespoon.
5. Fenugreek (methi) seeds – 1 teaspoon.
6. Red chillies -5 to 6 or according to taste.
7. Hing – 1 piece of the size of a pea, or 1/2 tsp if powdered
8. Turmeric powder- 1teaspoon.
9. Salt – to taste.
10. Curry leaves -3 to4 twigs.

For seasoning:

Cooking oil- 2 spoons.
Mustard seeds – 1 Spoon.

Preparation:

1. Heat a frying pan and pour 1 spoon of oil and fry ingredients 4 to7, ie Thuvar dhal, methi seeds, hing and chillies,till the dhal and methi seeds turn golden brown emitting a nice flavour. Allow to cool.
2. Cook the cut vegetables in a vessel by adding just sufficient quantity of water and the turmeric powder.
3. Wet grind the fried ingredients except the coconut gratings with water to a chutney like consistency. Add the coconut gratings, and run the mixer for a few seconds so that the gratings mix well with the other ingredients. Keep aside.
4. Extract juice from the Tamarind by adding about 2 cups of water  and keep aside.
5. When the vegetables are half cooked, add salt and the curry leaves, followed by the ground masala, and finally add the tamarind juice. Stir well to avoid lumps and allow to boil for 2 to3 minutes .
6. Heat the frying pan, add the remaining oil and the mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and saute for 1 minute and pour into the boilng liquid. Remove from fire and allow to set before serving.

This goes well with rice. For a traditional taste, coconut oil can be used. The tamarind juice is to be added only in the final stage to retain the special flavour and freshness of the dish.

Chenaikkadi

I saw some Yams in the vegetable market today and another excellent dish that goes well with rice and sambar, came to mind. In Kerala we call it Chenaikkadi which is named after the main ingredient, the tuber Chenai - Tamil/Malayalam for Yam (suran in Hindi). Chenaikkadi is prepared out of Yam, moong dhal (greengram dhal) and coconut. This how I prepare it as taught by my mother.

Ingredients:

1. Yam – Half a kg, washed peeled, and cut into 1 inch cubes.
2. Green gram dhal – 1 cup .
3. Coconut gratings – 1cup or shreds from half of a medium sized coconut.
4. Green chillies – 3 to 4, cut into small pieces.
5. Raw ginger -1/2 inch sized cube peeled and cut into small pieces.
6. Asafoetida (hing) – 1 small piece of the size of a pea soaked in water or 1/2 teaspoon if powdered variety.
7. Turmeric powder- 1teaspoon.
8. Salt to taste.
9. Curry leaves – 2 to 3twigs.
10. Lemon juice – of 1 medium sized lime. 

Seasoning :

1. Cooking oil -1 or 2 spoon.
2. Urad dhal – 1spoon .
3. Bengal gram dhal-1spoon(optional).
4. Mustard seeds – 1spoon.

Preparation:

1. Wash and pressure-cook the moong dhal in 1cup of water adding 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder till two whistles. Mash nicely after removing from cooker and keep aside.
2. Cook the cut pieces of yam in another 2 cups of water, adding the remaining part of turmeric powder ( this can be done in a pressure cooker as well, adding just sufficient quantity of water, since some varieties of yam are hard to cook ).
3. When the yam gets cooked, add 1/2 a teaspoon of oil to facilitate the process and add the cut chilli and ginger pieces and continue to cook.
   Add salt, the mashed moong dhal, hing, curry leaves and 3/4th of the coconut gratings, when the yam pieces become soft. Allow to boil for 2 to 3 minutes on low heat, taking care not to burn it by stirring and adding a little bit of hot water to the required consistency.
4. Heat a frying pan for seasoning. Add one spoon of oil and when hot add the mustard seeds first. The urad and bengalgram dhals are to be added after the mustard seeds start spluttering, followed by the remaining coconut gratings, when the dhals turn golden brown. Add a few more curry leaves and saute in medium fire till the coconut gets fried till reasonably crispy.
5. Now the yam and dhal mixture is also ready. remove from fire, add the above seasonings to it along with the lemon juice . Leave for some time to set and serve hot with rice.

Karadaiyan Nombu Adai

This time of the year marks the beginning of the Tamil month of Panguni and the end of the previous month of Masi according to the solar calender. Tomorrow, the 14th of March, is the first day of Panguni, on which day Karadaiyan Nombu is celebrated in commemoration of Sathi Savithri’s success in bringing back her husband’s life.

Karadai, a sweet preparation made out of rice powder and jaggery is prepared on this day. Although the name implies a different meaning.This is how we prepare it in our family.

Ingredients:

1. Roasted rice powder – 1 cup
2. Cow pea(Red) – 1tablespoon.
3. Powdered jaggery – 1 and 1/4cups.
4. Grated coconut- 1 and 1/2 cup or half a coconut of medium size.
5. Cardamom powder – 1 teaspoon
6. Ghee -1 to 2 tablespoons.
7. A pinch of salt
8. Butter – about 50 grams.

Preparation:

1. To prepare roasted rice powder– Wash and soak 1cup of raw rice in water for 1 to 2 hours. Drain water and dry the soaked rice in a white cloth under shade. When the moisture is removed fully dry grind it in a mixer into a fine powder. Dry roast it in a frying pan till a nice aroma comes out of it, taking care not to burn it. Keep aside.(This can be readied the previous day itself)
2. Dry roast the cow peas in a pan in medium till it emits a nice flavour,and soak in just sufficient quantity of water and allow to stand overnight.
3. On the day of preparation, pressure cook the cow peas in the same water upto two whistles.
4. Dissolve jaggery in 1 and a half cups of water, filter, strain and allow to boil, adding the coconut gratings and the pinch  of salt till the raw smell goes.
5. Now add roasted rice flour and the cooked peas together into the boiling jaggery solution, stirring all the while.
6. Add the cardamom powder and the ghee, stir well till every thing together cooks well to form a thick paste. Remove from fire and allow to cool.
7. When reasonably cool, roll the cooked flour into balls. Take half of the balls and flatten in the form of adais on plantain leaves. The remaining balls have to be shaped into kozhukkattais.
8. Steam cook for ten minutes.
9. After removing the steamed adais and kozhukkattais, it is offered to god before consumption

The women in the family perform Naivedyam (offerings to the divine)  after placing a Karadai and Kozhukkattai in a plantain leaf with betel leaves, arecanut (betel nut) and a ripe banana in front of the idol of God. A Charadu (sacred thread) with a flower tied to it like a pendant (in a necklace) is also placed along with the offering.

A small quantity of butter is placed on the adai and offered to the gods. While offering the women chant, ‘urukkadha vennaium oradaium vaitthen, orukkalum piriyamal en kanavan irukka‘ which is essentially an entreaty to God to grant her husband a long life. After finishing the pooja, according to one’s custom, charadu should be tied around the neck.

This is an ancient ritual long practiced before the advent of modern customs like Valentine’s day, where the menfolk usually do the toil.

Pulingari

After quite a long gap, I am here to post one more Kuzhambu variety known as Pulingari, frequently prepared in our family.The name itself suggests that it’s main base is puli, or tamarind.This can be prepared in combination with vegetables like brinjals, drumsticks, ladies finger (okra) or even muli (radish) and onions. I made it with a combination of radish and brinjals in an earthern pot today.

Ingredients:

1. Tamarind- quantity of a medium sized lemon.
2. 1/4 k.g of any one or two of the above mentioned vegetables cut into 1 ” sized cubes.
3. Turmeric powder- 1 tea spoon.
4. Curry leaves -2 to 3 twigs.
5. Mustard seeds-1 teaspoon.
6. Salt -to taste.
7. Water needed- 5or 6 cups.

Ingredients for Masala:

1. Thuvar dhal- 3/4 tablespoon.
2. Bengal gram dhal- 3/4 tablespoon.
3. Dhania- 2 tablespoons.
4. Red chillies-5to6 or as per taste.
5. Asafoetida-1 small piece of the size of a peanut, or 1/4 tea spoonful, if powdered
6. Fenugreek (methi/vendayam) seeds- about a teaspoon.
7. Coconut gratings- 2 to 3 tablespoonful.
8. Cooking oil -1 tablespoon.

Preparation:

1. Heat the frying pan and pour 1teaspoon of oil.
2. When hot, add the masala ingredients from 1 to6 mentioned above, starting from hing followed by dhals one by one and fry till the dhals turn golden brown and emit a nice aroma.
3. Allow to cool for some time and grind these items in a mixer for 1 minute without water and then add the coconut gratings and grind after adding water to a chutney consistency and keep aside.
4. Wash and soak the tamarind in 1 cup of water. Cook the cut vegetables in a vessel with two cups of water and turmeric powder.
5. Extract tamarind juice by adding 1/2 cup of extra water and add the juice to the ground paste and mix thoroughly.
6. Add salt to the vegetables now, and continue to cook. Pour the ground paste (with tamarind juice) mixture. Add  few curry leaves and continue to  cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Heat the frying pan, pour the remaining oil and when hot,  add the mustard seeds. When they splutter add one red chilly and few curry leaves and saute for one minute . Pour into the boiling vegetable and  remove from fire.

Note: The vegetable should not be cooked  for too long after adding the ground mixture, lest  the flavour will be lost. Tamarind paste can also be used in place of juice in case a very limited quantity is needed.

Can be served with hot rice and ghee or gingelly oil when fresh. Can be preserved  for two days at least  and  goes very well with curd  rice.

Cauliflower curry

I feel like posting the recipe of a dry side dish, after the liquid and semi liquid preparations posted earlier. This is how I prepare cauliflower (gobi) curry without the usual onion and peas as accompaniments.

Ingredients:

1. Cauliflower -1 of medium size
2. Moong dhal-2 table spoons
3. Grated coconut- 2tablespoons
4. Green chillies- 3 or 4
5. A pinch of powdered Hing or a small piece of hing dissolved in water
6. Juice of half lime
7. Salt to taste
8. Curry leaves -1 or 2 twigs
9. Coriander leaves,washed and cut- 1 or 2 sprigs
10. Mustard seeds- 1spoon
11. Urad dhal- 1 spoon.
12. Oil to season- 1table spoon.(maximum)
13. Turmeric powder -1 teaspoon

Preparation:

1. Wash the cauliflower florets thoroughly in a solution of a pinch of turmeric powder and salt in water. Wash and soak the moong dhal in water just enough to cover it.

2.Heat a frying pan and pour half of the oil. Add the mustard seeds . When they splutter, add a pinch of hing powder and the urad dhals and fry till golden yellow. Put a few curry leaves, saute and keep aside.

3.Slit the green chillies into two, and saute for a minute in the remaining oil add a cup of water, add the turmeric powder and cook the moong dhal in it till thewater is fully absorbed.

4.Now add the cauli flower florets in it while adding required quantity of water and cntinue to cook together along with the moong dhal stirring occasionally to avoid getting burnt. Add salt halfway.

5.When the water is finally absorbed, add the coconut gratings, stir well. Remove from heat. Add the seasonings already fried and cut coriander leaves. Pour the lemon juice, allow to stay for some time and mix well. Serve with rice and sambar.

Note: The florets can be pressure cooked with one whistle. and added to the moong dhal to save time. Care should be taken not to over cook the moong dhal and lemon juice should be added only after removing from fire.

Uppuchar

This is a very famous preparation made out of butter milk and coconut among our families spread over the southern part of Tamilnadu up to Trivandrum. It is usually made on festive days ,on the occasions of small functions, and even on Fridays. As with everything in India, there is a mythological link to this special delicacy.

The story goes like this. Lord Shiva, promised to marry Parvathy, who was the daughter of the local king- whose name slips my mind. The bride’s family was disappointed when Lord Shiva came to the marriage accompanied by only a few of his Bhootha Ganas. They expressed their disappointment to the Lord, indicating that the elaborate arrangements for the feast would go waste since the bridegroom’s party only had a few members.

On hearing this somewhat arrogant statement, Lord Shiva decided to teach them a lesson. At the time of the feast, the Bhootha Ganas ate rapaciously, and soon finished eating all the food that was prepared and demanded more and more. The hosts could not satisfy their hunger any more. As a last resort, they cooked the entire quantity of the remaining rice and prepared Uppucchar with the left over coconuts, buttermilk, and some greens from the nearby lands as side dish. Before serving, the king begged pardon from the groom and the hunger pangs of the Bootha Ganas were satisfied. Thus there was a happy ending to the entire episode.It is also a must-cook item on the dinner menu on the occasion of any marriage in our families.

This legendary wedding is commemorated to this day with an annual celebration in Uttarakoshamangai Temple near Ramanathapuram (Ramnad) District in Tamilnadu during month of Chiththirai.

Ingredients:

1. Coconut gratings- grate about half of medium sized coconut.
2. Curds or thick buttermilk- half litre.
3. Red chillies- 4 or 5.
4. Cumin seeds -1 teaspoon.
5. Urad dhal- 1 spoon
6. Black pepper -1/2 to 1 teaspoon.
7. Salt – to taste.
8. Sundaikkai or Manaithakkali (dried Vathal)-1 to 2 teaspoon
9. Brinjals cut into 1inch sized cubes- 2or3.(optional)
10. Oil to fry and seasoning-3 teaspoons.

Preparation:

1. Heat a frying pan, add 1 spoon of oil and fry the urad dhal and chillies together till the dhal turns golden brown.
2. Remove from fire and add the cumin seeds to the hot pan itself.
3. When cold, grind these items and the coconut gratings together into a fine paste of chutney consistency.
4. Pour the ground masala into the curd and blend thoroughly till it forms a liquid. It should not be too dilute or thick.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Heat the frying pan, pour the remaining oil and fry the dried vathals till dark brown.
7. Add the coconut to the butter milk mixture.
8. Reduce heat and cook till the liquid begins to boil (Care should be taken not to boil it) and remove from heat.
9. Fry the dried pepper, powder it and add to the mixture.

This is the simpler version, with available common ingredients.To add flavour to the dish, we use a rarely available ingredient called Appakkodi (dried and preserved variety of green). This dried herb is used in place of the Sundaikkai Vatthal. Another variety of Vatthal known as Adhalaikkai is also used with Appakkodi for seasoning. Further, brinjals cut into cubes and cooked in water with salt till they are soft, can be added for a better taste. This will go very well with rice and Masicha Keerai (mashed spinach) as a side dish, for which I will give you the recipe in a later post.

Avaraikkai Milagu Poricha Kozhambu

This is the season of Avaraikkai , available in Bengaluru in plenty. Apart from the usual Mocchai kai or Avarekalu, special to Kannadigas, who use only the beans for cooking, the other two flat and tubular types of this vegetable are used along with the outer skin by Tamil Iyers. This preparation is ideal for the cold winter season and can go very well with rice. I reproduce the procedure as taught to me by my mother.

Ingredients:

1. Avaraikai- ¼ k.g cut into half inch square pieces
2. Moong dhal – 1cup
3. Grated coconuts-1cup
4. Cumin seeds- 1teaspoon
5. Red chilly powder- 1teaspoon
6. Pepper powder- 1teaspoon
7. Turmeric powder-1teaspoon
8. Curry leaves-2 or 3 twigs
9. Cooking oil to season – 2 or 3 spoons
10. Mustard seeds -1 teaspoon
11. Urad dhal – 1 spoon
12. Salt 1 1/2 tsp or to taste

Preparation:

1. Pressure cook moong dhal in 1 cup of water with half a teaspoon of turmeric powder.
2. Boil the remaining powders in 2 cups of water for 2 to 3 minutes to remove the raw smell of the spices.
3. Add the cut vegetables and few curry leaves to it. When the vegetables are half cooked, add the required salt and cook until soft.
4. Keep aside one tablespoon of the coconut for seasoning and grind the rest with cumin seeds into a fine paste with required quantity of water.
5. Mash the cooked dal nicely and add it to the cooked vegetable. Add the ground coconut paste, stirring thoroughly till all the ingredients blend together into a semi liquid form. Reduce the fire to minimum. You may add water if you want the dish diluted.
6. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add the mustard seeds. When they begin to splutter, add urad dhal. When urad dal turns golden yellow, add curry leaves and coconut gratings.
7. Pour the seasoning into the vegetable mixture. Remove from fire and serve hot with rice.

Pulikutthy poricha kozhambu

We brought brinjals and ladies finger from the market. Immediately I remembered about the pulikutthy poricha kozhambu that my mother used to prepare . It is a long time since I prepared this delicacy in recent days. This is a vegetable preparation of semi liquid consistency, to accompany rice in place of the usual sambar prepared in many South Indian house holds. This is how my mother used to prepare it.

Ingredients:

1. Brinjals cut into cubes – 1cup
2. Ladies finger cut into half inch thick pieces – 1cup
3. Grated coconuts - 1cup
4. Red chillies 5to 6 or according to taste
5. Tamarind -1 lemon sized ball.
6. Thuvar dhal- 1cup
7. Hing 1 piece (soaked) or powdered 1/2 tsp
8. Curry leaves
9. Oil to season
10. mustard seeds
11. Urad dhal
12. turmeric powder 1teaspoon
13. salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Wash and pressure cook the thuvar dhal with half teaspoon of the turmeric powder.
2. Clean the brinjals and ladies finger and cut into pieces as above. Cook in 1 cup of water after adding the remaining turmeric powder, in a different vessel.
3. Set aside1 spoon of grated coconut and grind the remaining part and the chillies into a fine paste while the vegetables are cooking.
4. Extract the juice of the tamarind into a reasonably thick consistency and pour into the vegetables which are being cooked. Add few curry leaves into it along with salt to taste. Allow to cook for three to five minutes.
5. Now remove the cooked dhal from the cooker, mash it nicely into a paste, dilute and pour into the boiling tamarind and vegetable mixture. Add hing, reduce the fire and continue to cook.
6. Heat two spoons of cooking oil in a kadai , add mustard seeds. When the mustards starts spluttering add the urad dhal and curry leaves. when the urad dhal begins to turn into golden yellow colour, put the grated coconuts into it and fry a little.
7. Pour into the boiling kozhambu and remove from fire.

This can be used with rice, and with chappathies instead of sambar and dhal. Hope you enjoy this.