Friday, January 30, 2009

Recipe: Keera Masiyal


As promised, I am starting my Kanu spread with the recipe for Keerai Masiyal. Sometime back, Jennifer had asked what the difference was between Keerai molakoottal and Keerai Masiyal. Basically, Keerai molakoottal and Keerai Masiyal both are prepared with pureed Spinach or Amaranth. Whereas Keerai molakoottal is a richer curry with dal and coconut in it, Keerai masiyal is just pureed spinach with minimum spices and garnishing. Also Keerai molakoottal is used as a gravy curry to mix with rice with a side dish like Pachadi or thogayal. Keerai Masiyal is used as a side dish for sambar or morukoottan etc.

At home, we are especially partial to greens and would like to have a green in our menu as often as can be managed. The flip side is the time taken to clean and wash the greens. Now that I have a small patch of kitchen garden in Hyderabad, I manage to have greens more often.

Sometime back we had an arrangement with a hawker to supply one type of greens daily at our doorsteps. It so happened that my beloved parents spent couple of weeks with us at that time and my father enjoyed the daily greens. So when he was leaving, he told my husband,"my special thanks for the daily keerai". The next time my parents were expected, my husband said, "so, I will stop the greens from tomorrow". I asked, "but why?". He said, "your father apparently did not like the daily keerai, that's why he made a dig at me jokingly." I blurted out laughing and said, "Actually he loves Keerai and as it is difficult to get keerai everyday at home in Kerala, he really enjoyed the keerai and he was complimenting you!"

Now for the recipe.

I like to use either amaranth or spinach for keerai masiyal. Thandu keerai is for poriyal only. I like to use coconut oil for garnish as it imparts a special flavour.

Ingredients:

Spinach: 1 bunch
turmeric powder: 1 tsp.
Salt to taste.

For garnish

Coconut oil: 2 tsp.
mustard: 1tsp
urad dal: 1 tsp.
Rice: 1 tsp. (uncooked)
Red chillies: 2 nos.
Curry leaves: few

Method:

Clean and wash the spinach to remove all the dirt and soil. Boil in minimum water with salt and turmeric powder for 5-10 mnts. Cool and blend in a blender.

Heat a pan and add the coconut oil. When the oil is hot add, the mustard, urad dal, rice, broken red chillies and curry leaves, in that order. When the urad dal and rice turn pinkish red in color add the blended spinach and saute for 5 mnts. Your tasty keerai masiyal is ready. Quite quick, isn't it?

19 comments:

Pushpa said...

Hello Ammupatti,

Hope you r fine now... Definitely a quick recipe to try... This is the first time i have come across raw rice being used as a garnish... Thanks, will try out and let u know how it turns out.

Jen Kumar said...

Thanks Ammupatti, Now I understand. And something compelled me to buy spinach at the market yesterday...Now I am ready to make this!!

Rums said...

We make it slightly different. That's the Tanjavore style. We have that recipe in our blog. This sounds good too. I am a Tanjavore iyer married to a Palakkad Iyer. So we basically grind the spinach for Molagootal, and when we make poricha kootu or masiyal tanjavore style, it stays chopped.

Ravi said...

Aunty, we make keerai kadayal or masiyal in a more simpler way.

1 Keerai leaves are washed and boiled in very minimal water for a few mins.

2 The boiled keerai (there would be almost no water left by then) is ground in a multi-mixie along with salt and a clove of garlic.

3 Optionally it could be seasoned with gingelly oil and karudam.

Tastes good with rice and ghee accompanied with carrot/beetroot porial or as a side dish for sambar/curd + rice.

Ammupatti said...

Hi Pushpa

Thanks. I am fine now. Hope you tried the recipe and enjoyed the result.

Best wishes

Ammupatti said...

Hi Jennifer

So how did your Keerai Masiyal come out?

Regards

Ammupatti said...

Hi Ravi

I shows that there are different ways of preparing the same dish. Use the right ingredients in the right proportions and you have a great dish.

Best wishes

Ammupatti said...

Hi Rums

Now you know the Palghat style also. So you can have 2 different types of Keerai Masiyal. May be one during mom's visit and the other during mom-in-law's visits.

Regards

Janaki Gopikrishna said...

Now that the summer season is awaited. Ammupatti you are requested to give the proper recipes for karudam, vadam and all the items which can be dried and stored throughout the year for occassional uses.

Also request yout to cover palaharams like mysore pak, murukku, tengoyal, muthuswaram, pakodam etc.

Janaki Gopikrishna said...

With regards to keerai masiyal, I didnt know that raw rice can be used for garnish. Please post small recipes like this, it really helps me to take a good dabba to office.

Jen Kumar said...

Ammupatti...
Really liked the recipe..it was so simple to make.
The taste is a pakka south Indian taste I love, the raw rice in the tadka adds another texture. Loved it!!
Though I did use vegetable oil over coconut oil...

Ammupatti said...

Hi Janaki

If you go through my earlier posts, you would find the recipes for most of the dishes you have mentioned. Others are in the offing.

Do you really have the time to make vadams and karuvadams at home? Anyway, I propose to post the recipes.

Regard

Ammupatti said...

Hi Jennifer

I am sure you will add "Keerai Masiyal"in your routine menu hereafter.

Regards

Janaki Gopikrishna said...

Dear Ammupatti,
My mother was really good at karudams and vadams during summer. We had a terrace top flat in mumbai and it used to be an activitytime for me to help her stir the mix overnight and then make the karudams and vadams earlyin the morning. She sends it to me. But in Blore i have a terrace top flat and want to try this. Need to pass time on Saturday, sunday.

Janaki Gopikrishna said...

I have made kerai masiyal today for my office lunch along with sambar and rice. Its really tasting good.I used the rice grains to garnish it for the first time.

Ammupatti said...

Hi Janaki

I hope you got to eat your lunch.Usually if the lunch is so tasty, it gets eaten by the others in the office. ha ha

Janaki Gopikrishna said...

Yes ammupatti, I sat in one corner and left early for lunch. kerai masiyal is a hit. I plan to make kalan and olan over the weekend.I tell you your blog has become my motivator for cooking at home. Thank you so much. I just needed some spice in my kitchen and your blog has done wonders for me.

Ammupatti said...

Hi Janaki

I am honored. I Hope I would get to taste your cooking sometime, considering we both live in the same city.

Happy cooking!

Lakshmy Harish said...

I tried your dish today...it came out very weel...Thank you :)