Raw mangoes are used for preparing tasty gravy dishes to be mixed with rice. The raw mangoes provide the tanginess which is a must for any south Indian gravy dish. The Malayalam saying goes, ”Aaru maasam marapuli, aaru maasam manga puli,” which means for 6 months in a year one uses tamarind and the remaining 6 months one uses the tangy mangoes. This dish can be prepared with tangy raw mangoes and also with just ripening (a little sweetish) mangoes. This is an important dish on Vishu day as the Vellarikkaya from the Vishukani is used in making this dish. Though I have mentioned this dish many times in my blog I have not given the recipe yet. Here we go.
Ingredients: Raw Mango: 1 (Big) Drum sticks: 2 Kani Vellarikaya or Ash gourd : 200gms. Sour curds: ½ cup Coconut: 1 cup Green chillies: 3 Red chillies: 3 Methi seeds 1 tsp. Turmeric powder: 1 tsp. Jaggery: a small piece Salt to taste Oil 2 tsp. Mustard seeds: 1 tsp. Curry leaves: a few sprigs.
Method Heat ½ tsp of oil. Add ½ tsp of methi seeds and 2 red chillies cut into pieces. When the methi seeds turn reddish, remove from heat. Cool and grind with coconut and green chillies. Use beaten curds to grind the coconut to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
Cut the mango into big chunks. Cut the ash gourd into 1” squares. Cut the drum stick into 2” pieces. Cook the vegetables in enough water with turmeric powder and salt. When the vegetables are cooked add a small piece of jaggery (This will balance the tanginess of the mangoes). Mix the ground paste in the remaining curds and add to the cooked vegetables and boil. Remove from heat. Add a few curry leaves.
Heat the remaining oil in a kadhai. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, remaining methi seeds and 1 red chilli cut into small bits. When the mustard crackles, add the curry leaves and pour the tempering into the manga koottan.
Chammandi is Malayalam for chutney. Once the mango season arrives, every other day we have manga chammandi. As I mentioned earlier it was either mango koottan or chakka kari or chakka molakoottal and manga chammandi. This is a delicious chutney and goes well with plain rice, idli, dosa, or chapatti. It is the best side dish for any type of molakoottal.
Ingredients:
Raw mango: 1 no. Grated Coconut: 1 cup Urad dal: 1 tsp. Red chillies: 2 or 3 nos. Hing powder: ¼ tsp. Jaggery: a small piece Salt to taste. Curry leaves: few Coconut oil for seasoning.
Preparation: Cut the mangoes into small pieces. Heat ½ tsp of oil in a pan and add the hing and urad dal and red chillies and fry till the urad dal turns pink in color. Cool. Grind the mangoes, coconut, fried spices, curry leaves, salt and jaggery to chutney consistency. The moisture for grinding will come from the raw mangoes. This is thick chutney and hence, add only very little water during grinding if required. Serve seasoned with 1 tsp of coconut oil.
When I wrote the recipe for sweet kozhukkattais, I had promised that the recipe for other kozhukkattais would follow and somehow I have not been able to post all of them yet, though I did post ammini kozhukkattai sometime back. Among the varieties of kozhukkattias, Upma kozhukkattais are the ones made quite frequently as a breakfast item or an evening snack or as a substitute for dinner on the days when rice was not eaten. The snack gets its name Upma kozhukkattai as the kozhukkattais are made from an upma made of rice rava. When we were children, there was no concept of a breakfast in many Iyer households, instead there was a brunch, followed by a tiffin in the afternoon. The midday, around 2.30 – 3.00pm, was the busiest time of the day, when the afternoon tiffin had to be prepared, followed by night dinner, children came back from school and the cows returned home. There are many stories describing the busy scene of this time. There are also many stories with Kozhukkattais as the theme. I have also written a story which depicts both the busy evening and the kozhukkattias.
During those days, Kozhukkattai was not a regular tiffin item at our house. We usually had idli, dosa or adai. My chithappa (paternal uncle) used to refer to kozhukkattai as Emden (M10) referring to the bomb used in the World War I. My mother used to say that once when kozhukkattai was made, it turned out very hard and hence my chithappa named it as Emden. Those days, kozhukkattais were prepared by using ground boiled rice, which were very sticky and turned hard if it was not cooked in right quantity of water. These days, we use rava made of raw rice or the commercially available idli rava.
However, kozhukkattai was a favoured tiffin item in my husband’s house. My astute and blessed mother-in-law used to make the softest kozhukkattai and I have learnt the art from her. However I restrict myself in the quantity of tempering oil used. The secret of petal soft kozhukkattais lies in the quantity of oil and coconut used, my mother-in-law used to say. Her kozhukkattais and upma were very famous among my side of the family even. "Patti makes the best Upma," my brother used to say, referring to my mom-in-law.
The rava required for the recipe can be prepared at home or one can use the idli rava available commercially. To prepare the rava at home: Wash and drain raw rice and dry it by spreading on a clean cloth. Dry grind the rice coarsely in a mixer, to rava (sooji, semolina consistency). If one spoon of toor dal is added to every cup of raw rice while grinding, it adds to the taste. If you are making the kozhukkattai immediately, the rice need be spread on a towel only until the rice is just dry. However, if you plan to store the rava, dry it in sun, until the rice completely dry and crisp.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients: Rice rava: 1 cup Water: 2½ cups Grated coconut: 2 tbsp. Curry leaves: a few Oil:1 tbsp. Mustard:2 tsp Urad dal: 2 tsp. Chana dal: 2 tsp. Red chillies: 2. Hing powder: ½ tsp. Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp (finely cut) Salt to taste
The above are the usual ingredients for Upma kozhukkattai. For variety I always add either grated carrot or finely cut spinach while preparing the upma.
Method:
Use a thick bottomed pan. Heat the oil in the pan. When the oil is hot, add the hing powder, mustard, urad dal and chana dal. When the dals turn pink in color, add the broken red chillies and curry leaves and add the water and salt. When the water starts boiling add the grated coconut and finely cut coriander leaves (If you are using carrot or spinach, add these now). Add the rice rava and cook until all the water is absorbed. Remove from stove and keep closed for 10 minutes.
When the Upma is cool, mix it well and make small oblong kozhukkattais and steam them for 15-20 minutes. Absolutely delicious kozhukkattais are ready. Enjoy!
Kozhukkattais can be served with sambar, chutney or Podi. My favourite though, is kozhukkattai with rasam. My friend Lalitha says, kozhukkattais taste wonderful with Vattalkozhambu. Pick your choice and Enjoy.
I have spent more time now in Karnataka than in my native Kerala that it would be unpardonable not to write about authentic Karanataka cuisine. What other recipe can be more authentic and originally Karnataka than the now world famous Bisi Bele Bhath? Bisi Bele Bhath in Kannada means hot dal and rice. It is simply that. Perhaps originally it was only hot rice and dal. Now it has progressed to a complete filling meal with dal, rice and all sorts of vegetables. In our earlier years in Bangalore, we lived in a largely tambram area and hence did not have much contact with the native Kannadigas. The only bisi bele bhath we tasted were at the wedding receptions, which on those days were mostly conducted in dim choultries and food served on greasy plates. The bisi bele bhath served was too spicy for us and hence I never attempted to learn the recipe. Moreover our handsome and charming younger son never liked the food served on such occasions, so much so, even before we set out, he would ask us, “are they serving food in banana leaf or kozhakozha plate(greasy plate)”. So most of the time if it were kozhakozha plate, we just came away for our curds rice at home. It was only after I knew my best friend Veena, who is an authentic Kannadiga to the core, that I got to taste the delicious homemade bisi bele bhath and ever since it has become a favorite of not only of all at home but of all our guests also. They often say,”The bisi bele bhath served at the hotels is so spicy, your bisi bele bhath is very tasty”. Here then is the recipe for the bisi bele bhath masala powder. It may be made in advance and kept in air tight jars so that bisi bele bhath can be prepared in a jiffy any time. Ingredients for the masala: Dhania: 100gms Red chillies : 100gms Chana dal(Bengal gram dhal): 100gms Urad dhal: 100gms Dry copra: 100gms Cinnamon : 10 gms Marathi moggu: 5 pieces Cloves: 1 tsp.
Method:
Dry roast all the ingredients except copra separately (as each one will turn pinkish at different temperatures) to a pink color or until a nice aroma emanates from them. Grate the copra and add to the fried ingredients. Grind to a fine powder and store in air-tight jars. The quantity of red chillies may be increased or decreased according to personal taste. Making of Bisi Bele Bhath Bisi Bele Bhath is a very versatile dish and any vegetable can go into it. Though many people don’t use ladies fingers and brinjals (which would turn mushy when cooked) I would say any vegetable would add that extra taste to it. So use any vegetable you like. The following quantity will suffice for 6 servings. Ingredients: Carrot: 50 gms French beans: 50 gms Green peas: 50gms Knol khol: 1 small Cauliflower: few florets Potato: 1 medium Double beans: 50gms Cabbage: 50 gms Chayote : 50gms Tomato: 150 gms Curry leaves : few sprig Coriander leaves: few Fresh coconut: 2 tbsp. Tamarind : marble size or Tamarind paste: 1 tsp. Fresh ground nuts: 2 tbsp.
Rice : 1cup Toor dal: 1 cup Bisis bele bath powder: 2 tbsp. Turmeric powd: 1 tsp. Jaggery : 20gms. Salt to taste For garnish Ghee: 1 tbsp. Mustard seeds: 2 tsp. Red chillies: 2 nos. Cashew nuts (optional) : few Hing : 1 tsp. Method: The whole meal can be prepared in a pressure cooker in one go. That’s how I do it. Soak the ground nuts in water for 2 – 3 hours. Wash and Chop all vegetables to 1” squares. Shell peas and double beans. Wash and drain the rice and dal. Soak the tamarind in ½ cup of warm water. Unlike the other “mixed rice preparations” the bisi bele bath should be well cooked and should be in a semi solid consistency.(kozhayae in tamil).Accordingly add 3 cups of water for each cup of rice, 2 cups of water for each cup of dal and one cup of water for each cup of vegetables. Boil water according to the above proportion in a pressure cooker and add all the vegetables, soaked ground nuts, rice, dal and turmeric powder and close the pressure cooker. Put the weight on when steady steam comes out of the weight valve and cook for 3 whistles. (I usually reduce the heat at the first whistle and allow another whistle in reduced heat and switch off the stove). Allow the pressure cooker to cool. Open the lid and check if the rice is cooked well and there is enough water content. If not add one more cup of water and boil, adding the jaggery, bisibele bath powder and salt. Extract the juice out of soaked tamarind and add to the boiling rice. Add half the ghee also to the mixture. Boil for 5- 10 mnts stirring well taking care not to burn the contents (this happens because the contents are very sticky). Add the fresh coconut gratings. Switch off the stove and add a few springs of curry leaves. For garnishing: Heat the remaining ghee in a pan. When the ghee is hot, add the hing powder, mustard, cashew nuts, broken red chillies and few curry leaves. When the mustard stops spluttering and the cashew nuts turn to a pink color, add the contents to the prepared rice. Garnish with finely cut coriander leaves . Serve with chips, papad or vadam
Ingredients Raw Banana: 1 no. Vellapayar (Cow peas, lobia, Chowli): 2 tbsps. Turmeric powder: 1 tsp. Black pepper powder: 1 tsp. Salt to taste. Jaggery: a small piece Grated coconut: 1tbsp Curry leaves: a few Coconut oil 2 tsp for garnishing.
Method
Presoak the cow peas overnight. Slit the banana lengthwise and cut into 1 cm thick pieces. Pressure cook the cowpeas and banana pieces along with turmeric powder and pepper powder with just enough water. Remove and boil. Add the jaggery and salt. Boil for a few more minutes until all the ingredients are well blended. Remove and add curry leaves and coconut gratings. Pour the coconut oil on top.
Puliyekuthi Poduthuval is a family favourite, especially that of my beloved father. He just loved it. It has a delicious taste, with the combined flavours of the different vegetables that go into it and the tangy taste of the tamarind, all of it enhanced by the aroma of the special powder, freshly ground. The banana used in this recipe is called Mondan or Pondan or Vannan differently in different parts of Kerala.
Ingredients: Raw banana: 1 Fully ripe Red Pumpkin: 250 gms Brinjal : 200gms Ladies finger (Okra): 200gms Yam (Arvi, Chembu): 200gms (Some people put arvi leaves folded into small bundles. We don’t use this at home.) Turmeric powder: 1tsp Tamarind: lemon sized ball Jaggery: a small piece Salt to taste Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Roast and powder- Boiled rice (Not cooked but the boiled rice used for idlis): 1 tbsp. Toor dal: 1tsp. Methi seeds: ½ tsp. Hing: size of a pea Red chillies: 2 or more as per taste Curry leaves: a few
For garnishing- Oil: 1 tbsp. Mustard seeds: 2 tsp. Urad dal: 2 tsp. Red chilies: 1 (broken into small pieces) Curry leaves: a few
Method: Soak tamarind in little warm water and squeeze out the pulp. Keep it aside.
Dry roast all the ingredients for the powder, in the following order. Heat the pan and add the hing. When it starts getting fried, add the rice (washed). When the rice starts popping, add the rest of the ingredients and fry until they are all a nice pink color with a nice aroma. Cool and grind to a fine powder. Keep aside.
Cut the banana and pumpkin into 2” cubes. Wash and cut the brinjal and ladies finger to 2” pieces. Peel and cut the arvi. Boil the tamarind pulp with 3 cups of water and add the arvi. When arvi is half cooked add the banana and pumpkin pieces. Add the brinjal and ladyfingers when banana and pumpkin are half cooked. Add the turmeric powder, salt and jaggery. Add half cup of water to the prepared powder and make a paste. When the vegetables are fully cooked, add this paste and boil. If the consistency is too thick add a little more water and boil. It should be thicker than sambar in consistency, almost to the consistency of kootu. Even if the consistency is little watery, it will thicken as the curry cools. When the curry has boiled for 5 minutes remove it from the stove. Add a few curry leaves.
Heat another pan. Add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds crackle, add the urad dal and red chilli pieces.. When the urad dal is pink in color and the red chillies get fried, add the curry leaves and pour this tadka into the curry.
Enjoy with rice. This curry is mixed with rice using what we at home call fried oil. This is the oil left over from frying papads etc. This gives a delicious taste to the food. The right accompaniment for Puliyekuthi Poduthuval is Papads. The menu at home on Puliyekuthi Poduthuval day is Puliyekuthi Poduthuval, Rasam and papad. P.S. Arvi is best peeled after boiling them first. The skin comes off easily. What I do is to wash and put the arvi at the bottom of the pressure cooker with enough water and keep the other vegetables, excepting brinjal and ladyfingers, on top of it in a separate container. I add the tamarind juice, turmeric powder and salt also into the vegetables. Brinjal and ladies fingers are cooked separately. When the pressure cooker is ready, I remove the arvi, peel and cut them, mix all the vegetables and boil for 5 minutes and add the rest of the ingredients. ENJOY!
Noolpittu or Idiyappam is also a favorite Kerala breakfast item and Kerala Iyers prepare Sevai a cousin of Noolpittu. This again is a very simple oil free snack.
Ingredients: 1. Rice flour: 1cup 2. Salt 3. Hotwater 1 cup
Method: Roast the rice flour very lightly. Cool. Add the hot water and salt and mix with a spatula to firm dough. Fit the Anju thattu nazhi with the plate with tiny holes. Fill with the prepared dough. Press onto perforated plates or idli plates and steam until done.
Remove and serve with sweetened coconut milk. Needless to say, this is my second post for JFI Rice (first: Aappam).
When I saw that the topic for the current JFI was “Rice” I was thinking, I have posted all my favorite rice recipes. What can I post when I have already posted Palpayasam, the king of rice recipes and Idichu Pizhinja Payasam which is an all time favorite of all Kerala Iyers and in particular Puthucodians and now of many others . Our elder son suggested Idiyaappam or Noolpittu and Aappam.
Neither of the above is a Kerala Iyer specialty. In fact, I had never heard of these two items until our elder son started going to school. In school he had a close Malayalee friend, Krishnakumar, who used to bring aappam for lunch. Our son used to come home and ask me to give him, white dosa for his lunch. I only knew the conventional dosa and I tried making them white in color, by under cooking them. He used to say, “Amma, this is not the one, make white dosas for me”. This continued and it was not until I took up a full time job and I had malayalee colleagues, that I came to know about this secret of this white dosa. The white dosa he was referring to was Aappam and I got the recipe from the colleagues and started preparing them to my son’s delight. Our younger son never liked it though, as his liking was always roast dosa. Then I realized the reason why this preparation never entered the orthodox kitchens of Kerala Iyers. The main reason is the fermentation agent most commonly used in the preparation of the batter. Usually an alcohol prepared from the coconut palm (fresh toddy, country liquor or kallu ) was used in the fermentation process. Therefore, it is also referred to as Kallappam, Kallu being the name by which such alcoholic preparations are known. Even the mention of the word Kallu was banned in Iyer households in the olden days, let alone bringing it home for fermenting the dough. Now coconut water kept overnight, or yeast is used as the fermenting agent. Use of these items in Iyer households is no longer taboo and therefore this recipe. Partaking of this fresh toddy early in morning is quite common among the non-brahmin communities in the villages even today. Moreover cooked rice kept overnight (which also ferments) is also added during the grinding, which was taboo in the orthodox kitchens (pazhaya satham).
Aappam is a typical Kerala breakfast item and is comparatively oil free and full of vitamin B as it has been fermented. Usually train travelers from other parts of India travelling to Kerala, are greeted by Chaaya Velleppam as the train reaches Palghat, the first railway station in Kerala. As the train always reached Palghat early in the morning and we could reach home by breakfast time, we never even thought of trying this Velleppam. To this day, I have never tasted Velleppam other than what I myself have cooked.
As I have already mentioned, people later on started fermenting the batter with yeast and I ferment my batter with a home made toddy I prepare thus:
Whenever I break a coconut, I preserve the elaneer (coconut water) with a spoonful of sugar added to it. The next day, I make the batter for Aappam by soaking the rice in this home made fermenting solution.
Ingredients: Coconut : 1 (It is better to use a medium ripe coconut, as it will yield more milk. The shell of the medium ripe coconut is white in color, in contrast to the dark brown color of fully ripe coconut). OR Coconut milk : 1 cup Grated coconut : ½ cup Yeast: 1 tsp. Raw rice : 1 cup Cooked rice : ¼ cup Sugar 1 tbsp. Salt to taste Soda-bi carb. ½ tsp.
Method I: Make the fermenting solution thus: Break the coconut and reserve the coconut water with a tbsp. of sugar added to it. Keep it overnight. Grate the coconut and preserve. Next day, wash and soak the rice in the reserved coconut water for 4 hours. Grind the rice, cooked rice, grated coconut and salt to a very smooth batter. Leave it overnight.
Method II If using yeast, soak the yeast in little warm milk with a tsp. of sugar. Soak the rice in water and grind with yeast solution, grated coconut, cooked rice, sugar and salt to a smooth batter. Leave it overnight. The aappam is prepared in a special earthenware aappa chatty (kadai) with a lid. These days, non-stick aappa chattis are available; yours truly makes it in a regular cheenachatty with satisfactory result. Add the soda-bi-carb, just before preparing the aappams. Heat the aappa chatty and smear with a drop of oil. Add a big ladle full of batter and swirl the kadai so that the batter spreads on all the four sides. Keep the kadai closed with a lid and cook on moderate heat. After 2 or 3 minutes open the lid and remove the puffed aappams. Repeat the process. ENJOY WITH STEW.
Along with my recipe for Idiyappam, this is one of my entries for JFI Rice.
Stuffed capsicums can be prepared in a variety of methods. You can steam, grill or bake them. This time I have steamed them as I am now preparing some bland diets for my son who is recovering from gastritis.
Ingredients:
Capsicums: 4 Nos. Potatoes: 200gms Green chilies: 2. Grated ginger: 1 tsp. Onion: 1 no. Garam masala: ½ tsp. Turmeric powder: 1tsp. Lemon juice: 1tsp. Salt to taste: Oil: 1 tbsp or more (depending on the method) Mustard: 1 tsp. Jeera: 1 tsp. Finely cut coriander leaves: 1 tbsp. Maida: 1 tbsp.
Method:
Wash the capsicum and remove the stalk portion, forming a lid. Remove the seeds. Apply salt to the inside and outside of the capsicums and keep them inverted.
Boil, peel and mash the potatoes. Chop the onions and green chillies finely. Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a thick bottomed pan and add the mustard and jeera. When they splutter, add the finely cut onion, green chillies and grated ginger. Saute until the onions are transparent. Add the mashed potatoes, turmeric powder, garam masala, and salt. Saute until all the ingredients are well mixed and dry. Remove from heat; add the lemon juice and half of the coriander leaves. Mix well and cool.
Stuff this mixture into the capsicums.
Make a thick paste of maida and water. Apply to the tops of the cut capsicums and close with the stalk portions. This will prevent the stuffing from coming out.
Now, steam them for 10- 15 mnts or apply a thin coat of oil on the stuffed capsicums and either grill them or bake them until done.
Remove, cut into halves or quarters, garnish with the remaining coriander leaves and serve!
This rice preparation is a favourite of the family. It is spicy, tangy and well balanced and is a meal in itself. It can be had with just papads or a raita. I serve it with a bland gourd curry (kootu) as the rice is spicy.
The recipe calls for dhania powder and chilli powder, however I use my sambar powder instead as the sambar powder contains a lot more spices, this enhances the flavour and taste of the rice. Actually, in most dishes I use sambar powder in place of dhania powder, which gives an excellent aroma to the dish.
Coconut milk is an important ingredient in this recipe. I make cooconut milk by blending fresh grated coconut with ½ cup of warm water and straining it through a colander. I repeat the process with some more warm water to extract all the remaining milk from the coconut.(While blending the coconut, I add the garlic and ginger to it, so that the juices are extracted along with the coconut milk). Ready made coconut milk can also be used.
Try this recipe and enjoy.
Ingredients:
Tomatoes : 250gms Basmati rice : 1 cup Coconut milk : 1 cup Ginger : 2” piece Garlic : 6 or more pods (as per taste) Onion : 100gms. Green chillies : 2 or 3 Cloves : 2 Cinnamon : 1” stick Black cardamom : 1 no. Bay leaves : 1 or 2 Dhania powder : 1 tbsp. Chilli powder : 1 or 2 tsp (as per taste) Turmeric powder : 1 tsp. Salt to taste Ghee or oil : 2 tbsp.
Cashew nuts : for garnishing. Curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing.
Preparation:
Blanch the tomatoes by dipping in boiling water for 5 minutes and immediately dipping in cold water. Remove the skin (blanching helps in removing the skin easily). Make a puree of the tomatoes. Keep aside.
Pepare coconut milk as explained above or use ready made coconut milk. Extract the juice of ginger and garlic by blending and straining the juice. Keep aside.
Slice the onions and slit the green chillies.
Wash and soak the rice for 10 minutes. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and fry the cashew nut to a golden brown color. Remove and keep aside for garnishing. Fry the onions to a golden brown. Remove and keep aside for garnishing. Into the same ghee, add the whole garam masalas (cloves, cinnamon and cardamom) and bay leaf. When they stop spluttering, add the slit green chillies and saute for a minute. Add the rice and fry till the rice starts spluttering. Add the tomato puree and coconut milk and juice of ginger and garlic. As the tomato puree is quite thick it provides only half its measure of water for the rice to cook. The ratio of water to rice for cooking the rice varies depending on the rice. Normally basmati rice will need two cups of water to one cup of rice. If quantity of coconut milk used is 1 cup and tomato puree is 1 cup, we need to add an additional half cup of water to the rice for cooking. Add the dhania powder, chilli powder (or the sambar powder), turmeric powder and salt. Close the pressure cooker and cook the rice with the weight valve on. When done, garnish with curry leaves, coriander leaves and cahsew nuts and fried onions.
ENJOY! P.S.: Of course, this is my entry for JFI Tomatoes
I just cannot believe that it is already one year since I wrote about Karadayan Nonbu. It cetainly doesn’t feel like that long. Time really flies. The usual question people ask us when we meet is, “ How do you spend your time”. I can only ask them in reply, “what time?” I can actually hear my sons saying, ”you will never get time.” It is true, I somehow manage to fill my time to the brim with the result that my only complaint always is that I don’t have enough time.
We are back to the malayalam month of Meena or Panguni in Tamil. As usual we observed Karadayan nonbu on the 1st of Meena. This year, the sankrama was at 2.30am on the 15th and hence the priest conveniently announced that 6.30-7.30pm on the 14th would be the auspicious time to do the pooja. When I asked him why he advanced the time, he said, “Madam, nobody will get up at that hour and observe the puja. 6.30-7.30pm on the 14th is auspicious for conducting any puja as per the Panchanga." The priests have to be very diplomatic these days. I can remember times when we would keep awake till 11.30pm to do the puja or would wake up at 1.00am and get ready to do the puja. I must admit, however, that I also did the puja at about 7.30pm on the 14th this year. Our family priest has many fine qualities, but when it comes to mixing the practical with the spiritual, he excels himself.
An interesting point about this puja is that in our village (I don’t know about other places) and also in my husband’s village, jasmine or other types of flowers are not offered during this puja. The flowers offered are what are known as Arali in Malayalam which has a sweet frangrance. As in the past years we managed to get the flowers from a nearby garden this year also.
As usual, I prepared both vella adai and kara adai as per my tried and tested recipe. Some of my friends say, they use karamani or chickpeas in place of green gram dal. I feel green gram dal gives body to the adai and also makes it very soft.
Although, I had blogged about the recipe last year, I didn’t have the pictures for it then. Each of these pictures follows the various steps in making the adais: making the balls out of the dough, flattening them, placing them on the steamer and then finally the steamed adais. After preparing the adais, I got ready for the puja. There is one place for each female member of the family, however small the girl is. Even if there is only one female member, usually we never have one neyvedyam kolam (rangoli). It is usually two. I offer the neyvedyam and charadu for the Tulsi plant.
After the kolam is made, the puja offering is prepared thus: A banana leaf is put on each kolam. One sweet adai, one kozhukkattai and butter, two bananas, betel leaves and nuts, two pieces of turmeric, arali flowers and the all important Nonbu Charadu.
After doing the puja, the charadu is tied around the neck and the neyvedyam is partaken by the offerers. (This is one of the few occasions that ladies get to eat before men). Though you can have any number of adais, it is only one adai and one kozhukkattai kept during the puja, The verses for the puja are
Urukkatha vennayum Oradayum notren Orukalum en kanavan piriyathirukkanam
which can be translated as “I offer butter and one adai, let me and my husband be together always."
The Uppadai or the savoury adai is also not offered as neyvedyam. It is only to have as a savoury item after the sweet adais.
Kanu Podi is a special powder for Kanu. The Ellu Sadham I was referring to earlier is prepared by mixing this powder with cooked rice. A few years ago, we had my paternal uncle and his family as guests on Kanu day. As usual, I had prepared kanupodi and ellu sadham. My chithappa (uncle) enjoyed the podi so much he said, “I am tasting such wonderful kanupodi for the first time since I left home”. He was then 65 years old and he must have left home after his studies when he was 15 or 16.
Ingredients: Sesame seeds (Ellu) : 100gms (Black or white) Jaggery :50 gms Red chillies : 1 or 2 Salt to taste
Dry roast the sesame seeds in slow heat . The sesame seeds will splutter, so be careful to close it with a lid with a knob, but at the same time keep stirring the contents. I use a pan with a handle and lid and keep rotationg the pan holding it at the handle. Once the spluttering stops, remove from the stove and add the red chilli. The red chilli will get fried in the heat of the roasted sesame seeds. Crush the jaggery into small pieces.
Now comes most tricky task. Dry grind the sesame seeds, redchillies, salt and jaggery pieces ever so gently. Just grind for a second, open the jar, scrape the sides and grind again for a second. As soon as the contents are ground to a powder, immediately remove. This is the most delicious Kanu podi or ellu podi.
This tastes good with thayir sadham also.
If ground at a fast speed in a mixer, the sesame seeds will extrude oil and the result will be a messy mass. So be careful.
When any tamilian or kerala iyer hears about kalanda sadham it is usually the Puliyodarai/Lemon rice/Thengai sadham (coconut rice) that comes to mind. But when we were growing up, as I always say, these rice preparations were not popular in our rural Kerala village. Instead, we had Ulundu Sadham (Urad dal rice) and Ellu Sadham (sesame rice) and of course, Thayir sadham (curd rice), which for some reason was referred to as Thimiral. I wonder why. It was Keerai Masiyal for the side dish. Since all vegetables that we used came from the kitchen garden or from our farm, we used the keerai (spinach) from our backyard, which was the seasonal vegetable. So it was keerai masiyal on Kanu day.
When I started my own family I made a small change to the menu. In addition to the various mixed rice preparations, I invented a mixed vegetable sadham, as my husband and I could not imagine a meal without vegetables.
This rice is different from the usual fried rice or pulao or veg. biriyani in that no garam masala, whole or powdered, is used and it is only flavoured with the Kerala’s own coconut and green chillies and ginger.
This Kanu I again prepared mixed vegetable rice, puliyodarai and thayir sadham with home made vadam. Here is the recipe for the mixed vegetable rice.
Ingredients:
Carrots: 100gm French beans: 100 gm Green Peas : 100gm Capsicum (green bell peppers): 50 gm Cauliflower: 100gm
Rice: 1 cup
Grated coconut : ½ cup Green chillies : 2 or more according to taste Ginger : ½" piece Salt to taste Cooking oil : 1 tbsp. + 1tsp Hing (asafoetida) powder : ½ tsp. Mustard : 1 tsp Urad dal : 1 tsp Bengal gram dal: 1tsp Ground nuts: 1 tbsp. Curry leaves: 1 sprig Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp.
Method:
Pressure cook the rice with 1tsp of oil, so that the rice grains don't stick to each other. Spread the cooked rice on a plate to cool, so that it doesn't get mashed up while mixing.
Grind the coconut with green chilles and ginger coarsely without adding water.
Cut the all vegetables into small cubes, about 1 cm long. Cook the vegetables, except the capsicum, retaining the crispiness (don’t over cook) and strain the water out. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the hing powder and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the urad dal, bengal gram dal and grounds nuts. When the nuts and dal turn light brown, add the curry leaves and capsicum pieces. Saute for a few minutes, until they are cooked. Add all the other cooked vegetables and salt. Saute for few more minutes. Now add the ground coconut mixture. Mix well. Remove from the stove. Add the cooled rice and mix well, until the rice and vegetables are mixed well. Garnish with finely cut coriander leaves.
ENJOY THE COLOURFUL MIXED VEGETABLE RICE.
P.S. I don’t add turmeric powder in this rice, as I feel it spoils the colour coordination of the otherwise colorful rice. Being a die hard Keralite, I use coconut oil for this rice, as it imparts a special flavour to the dish. In the olden days, in rural Kerala the Iyer families did not use onions. Even today it is so on festival days. Onion may be added while sauteing, to improve the taste.
Having given the recipe for Sarkkarai Pongal, I thought it would be fitting if I gave the recipe for Venpongal also. Aama vadai and Obattu recipes later.
Ingredients:
Raw Rice: 1 cup Roasted Green Gram dal: ½ cup Ghee: 2 tbsp. Ginger: 1" piece Pepper corns : about 10 nos. Jeera: 1 tsp. Asafoetida: size of a pea Salt to taste Curry leaves: one sprig Cashew nuts: 5 or 6 Raisins : 1 tbsp. (The last two are optional)
Method
As I said in Sarkkarai pongal, use only south Indian cooking rice. Wash the rice and dal and cook in 4 cups of water with asafoetida. The rice and dal should be cooked real soft . Mash the cooked rice and dal with a spatula adding enough salt.
Slice the ginger into small pieces. Break the cashew nuts into small pieces.
Heat 1 tbsp. of ghee in a pan, add the pepper corns. When the pepper corns get fried and start floating on the surface, add jeera and sliced ginger and curry leaves and pour into the cooked venpongal. Heat the remaining ghee, add the raisins and cashew nut pieces. When they turn golden brown add to the venpongal (The tempering could be done in one step, if you are experienced enough not to burn any of the ingredients).
Pongal is already here. Though many varieties of Pongal are made these days, Sarkkarai Pongal (sweet) and Venpongal (savoury) are the top hits. Since many visitors to my blog informed me that they were trying out the recipes I publish, I thought I will give the recipe for Sarkkarai Pongal before Pongal, so that my friends out there can prepare the pongal and enjoy.
Though Sarkkarai pongal had not made inroads into rural Kerala when I was growing up, I learnt long ago about the genuine article, true vaishnavite Sarkkarai pongal, from an authentic source: Komala mami. Thank you, Komala Mami.
In the olden days, (may be even these days in some households) Pongal was made in a vengalapanai, which is made of bronze and is a very thick deep vessel with a slightly narrower neck (top). It was customary to gift a few vengalapanais to the daughter at the time of her marriage. The Iyer households used these vesels for regular cooking of rice, boiling milk and preparation of curds before the advent of cooking gas and presuure cookers in rural areas of Kerala. The main source of heat those days used to be firewood.
On Pongal day, raw turmeric roots and green mango leaves and flowers were strung in a thread and tied around the vengalapanai and milk was boiled in it. It was customary to greet each other with “Pal Pongitha” (have you boiled the milk). To the boiling milk was added the fried green gram dal and rice and pongal was made. The Pongal prepared in the vengalapanai tasted delicious. It was a tedious process though. One had to keep stirring it constantly so that it would not get burnt nor would it boil over.
Here then, is the easiest and quickest way of preparing Sarkkarai Pongal in a pressure cooker. It will taste as delicious and sweet. (My husband says, these days, nobody remembers the taste of Sarkkarai Pongal cooked in a vengalapanai, so it doesn’t make any difference).
Ingredients:
Rice : 1 cup Roasted green gram dal: ½ cup Jaggery: 2 cups Milk: 1 cup Ghee : 4 tbsp or more Cashew nuts : a few Raisins: a few Saffron : 2 or 3 strands Cardamom powder: 1 tsp Cloves : 2 nos. Jaiphal or Jathikkai or nutmeg :1 no. Pachakarpooram or edible camphor (cinnamonum camphora) : a pinch
Method:
Boil the milk with 3 cups of water in a pressue cooker. (For sarkkarai Pongal always use the regualr south Indian cooking raw rice like Ponni or Sona Masoori or Nellore, don’t use Basmati). When the milk and water boils, reduce heat and add the washed rice and green gram dal into it. Close with the lid. When steam starts escaping through the vent place the weight valve and cook on low heat for 15 – 20 minutes (This is for people using gas stoves and where the heat can be brought to absolute minimum. Those using electric stove, be careful to switch off after one whistle and allow the pressure cooker to remain on the same stove for another 15 – 20 minutes). Open the cooker only after ½ hr.
In the meantime, melt the jaggery in 1 cup of water and strain to remove any impurities (In the olden days, jaggery was crushed and added to the cooking rice and dal mixture, I would always recommend to melt and strain the jaggery as it will always have some fine sand particles).
Dissolve the saffron strands in a tbsp. of boiled milk and keep aside.
Lightly roast the cloves. Powder it with 1/8 of the nutmeg.
Open the pressure cooker and mash the contents well with a metallic spatula. Pour the strained jaggery syrup into the cooked rice and dal mixture and heat ,stirring continuously, until the mixture becomes homogenous and is of a dropping consistency. (Care should be taken to see that all the moisture doesn’t evaporate and the pongal becomes dry). It should be in a loose but not running consistency. Add 2 tbsp, or more ghee and mix well. Add the saffron mixture. Remove from fire.
Heat the remaining ghee and add the raisins and broken cashews. When they turn golden brown pour into the Pongal. Add the pachakarpooram and cardomom powder and cloves and nutmeg powder. Pour one more tbsp of ghee.
Offer the Neivedyam to Sun God and enjoy with family and friends.
The Vaishnavites pour one more spoon of ghee in the palm of the guest after serving Sarkkarai pongal.
Don’t be stingy with the ghee or whatever reason. Sarkkarai pongal’s taste lies in its richness. It is said that ghee should not be measured but poured into the Pongal with closed eyes (Kannai moodindu ney vidanum).
The pachakarppooram has a strong flavour, so use it only if you like it. All other ingredients, like cloves, nutmeg, saffron are also optional. So If you don’t have one of these, don’t panic. You will still get a tasty pongal. These ingredients only add to the flavour of the Pongal.
P.S. Many people complain that their Pongal turn out very dry and hard. The secret is in switching off the flame when there is still some moisture in the pongal.
Molagootal is a unique dish of Kerala Iyers. Everybody likes it including non-Iyers who try it. I've found that every non-Iyer who joins our family (by way of marriage) takes an instant liking to it. It is the most satvik food and at the same time delicious also. The taste is a blend of all the vegetables, and lentils, and fresh coconut. It is not very spicy nor oily, which makes it suitable food for young, old, and the invalid. Molagootal can be made with mixed vegetables (raw banana, pumpkin, winter melon, chena, koorka, payar), spinach (keerai), banana stem, cabbage. One of my videshi bahus swore by broccoli molagootal.
Keerai (spinach) is rich in iron, vitamin A, B, and C is a very wholesome vegetable. It can be made with Are keerai (amaranthis), dhondu keerai, molai keerai (found mostly in TN), parippu keerai (available in Karnataka), spinach keerai (palak), shiru keerai (good diuretic). Of these traditionally we used Are keerai in Kerala, it used to be grown in our backyard.
Keerai (spinach/greens/palak): 300g Toor dal: ¾ cup grated coconut: ½ cup mustard: 1 tsp urad dal: 2 tsp red chilli: 1 jeera: ½ tsp turmeric powder: 1tsp salt: to taste Oil: 1tbsp
Wash and drain the greens, and cook. Cool. And grind to a paste. Pressure cook the toor dal with turmeric powder. Heat 1 tsp of the oil, add 1 tsp urad dal and 1 red chilli broken into bits, fry till the dal is pink in color. Remove. Grind coconut with fried dal and chilli and the jeera to a smooth paste. Boil the spinach puree with salt. Add the cooked toor dal and boil for 5 minutes. Add the ground coconut paste and add enough water to get pouring consistency. Boil. Remove from the stove. Heat the remaining oil, add the mustard seeds when they splutter, add the remaining urad dal, when the dal turns pink, pour into the keerai molagootal.
Can be eaten with rice, chapatti, dosa, pooris etc. Accompaniments: Thogayal, Thair pachadi, Pachadi, Pulikachal.
Aviyal again is a dish prepared with as many vegetables as one can get. There is a legend about this dish. The maharaja of Travencore used to perform Murajapam everyyear, a vedic seminar, in which a large number of vedic scholars participated. One year it so happened that there was no vegetables left on the last day of the Murajapam.. Only few pieces of various vegetables left over from the previous days were available. The cook cut all the left overs into long thin pieces and prepared "Aviyal." The king liked the dish so much and presented him with a gold bracelet so much and ordered that this dish be served every year since then. All vegetables go in it, except perhaps, some mushy vegetables, like, tomato, brinjal, ladies fingers, cabbage, cauliflower, beetroot (it stains the dish), radish, turnip, onion, sweet potato, etc. Otherwise, all the following vegetables can be used, depending on the availability. Raw Green plantain Elephant yam (amorphopallus is the botanical name, Chena in Malayalam, chenai kizhangu in Tamil, Suvarna gadde in Kannada, Jameenkhand in Hindi), Chembu (colocasia, cheppam kizhangu in Tamil, arvi in Hindi) Snake gourd (Trichosanthes Anguina) Pumpkin Ash gourd Carrot Beans Avarakkai (Saem in Hindi)) Chow Chow (Sechium edule, Bangalore Kathrikkai in Malayalam and Tamil, Seeme badanakkaye in Kannada) Thondekkai ( kova kkai in Tamil) Lobia (payar in Malayalam, Karamani in Tamil, Halasinde in Kannada) Green mango (raw) Drumsticks Raw jackfruit A small quantity of bitter gourd can be used to give a tinge of bitterness
Since a variety of vegetables are used, we will need only very small quantity of each of them and also it is very difficult to prepare 2 servings or 4 servings. However, even if the prepared quantity is more than can be consumed, it keeps well for a couple of days under refrigeration. This can be frozen also.
Now for the recipe: The preparation of aviyal is very simple.
Ingredients: Vegetables: 250 gms of mixed vegetables. Turmeric powder: 1tsp. Grated fresh coconut :1½ cups Green chillies: 5 to 8 nos. according to taste Curds 3-4 tbsp lightly sour (if using raw mango, do not use curds) Salt to taste Curry leaves : a few Coconut oil 2 tbsp. (it is the coconut oil which gives aviyal the aroma and taste, hence do not substitute) Wash and cut all the vegetables lengthwise into 2" pieces(stick shape). Boil the vegetables until just done, with turmeric powder and salt. One should be careful not to overcook the vegetables: they should remain crisp.(There are some vegetables which cook very fast and some which take a long time. Keep adding the vegetables to the boiling water according to the cooking time, the longer cooking vegetables first and the quicker ones last) Grind the coconut with green chillies, without using water. Drain the vegetables. Put them in a wide mouthed large pan in mild heat, add the coconut mixture, beaten curds, curry leaves and coconut oil and gently toss for few minutes, until all the vegetables are coated with coconut and coconut oil. If using a spoon, be careful not to mash the vegetables. Remove from heat add fresh curry leaves. ENJOY.
This aviyal can be used as a side dish for sambar rice or any other rice. If this has to be used as a main dish for rice, make the aviyal with a little more of beaten curds to get a gravy. One can use the water used for cooking the vegetable to make the gravy, if short of curds. Aviyal can be eaten with rice, dosa, chappathi or Poori. Our son relishes pooris with refrigerated aviyal.
Though preparations for Onam Sadya start days in advance, there are many things which can be done only on Onam day. Kalan and pulinji can be prepared one or two days in advance. Other delicacies have to prepared on the day of the feast.
There are varieties of Sambar prepared in the southern states, but the sambar prepared by Kerala Iyers beats them all. This sambar is prepared by grinding fresh spices. No readymade sambar powder is used here. Each time, the sambar is made, spices are ground fresh. We follow this system to this day.
Traditionally, vegetables like, ladies finger (okra), brinjal (eggplant), drum sticks, chembu(taro root/colacacia), avarakkai(snowpeas), pumpkin, ash gourd, etc. are used. In recent years, vegetables like capsicum (bell peppers), tomato, knolkhol, radish, methi leaves, etc. are all used (these were not used earlier since they were not available then). Radish sambar tastes especially great.
The sambar made out of a combination of all the above vegetables is known as kootu sambar and prepared for big feasts. It could be prepared in the combination of all the above or any of them or any other combination, depending on the availability. Each vegetable renders a special flavour to the dish.
Ingredients:
4 servings:
Since a variety of vegetables is used, a little of each vegetable is selected, totalling to 250gms.
Tamarind: size of a ping pong ball
Toor dal: ¾ cup
Coriander seeds : 1 tbsp.
Bengal gram dal:1 tbsp.
Methi seeds : ½ tsp
Hing(asafoetida) pea size
Red chillies : 5.
Grated coconut: 3 tbsp.
Turmeric powder :1 tsp.
Jaggery : a small piece
Salt to taste
Oil 1 tbsp.
Mustard seeds: 2 tsp.
Curry leaves: a few
Coriander leaves 1 tbsp. (optional)
Preparation:
Wash and cut the vegetables like pumpkin, ash gourd, radish,etc., into 2" cubes. Cut ladies finger, brinjal, drumstick, radish, avarakkai etc. into 2" long pieces. Pressure cook the dal with 1½ tsp turmeric powder and enough water to achieve a smooth consistency.
Heat 1 tsp oil and roast the hing, coriander seeds, Bengal gram dal, methi seeds, 4 red chillies and a few curry leaves to a light brown colour. Grind the roasted spices with the coconut gratings to a smooth paste.
Soak tamarind in warm water for ½ hr and extract the juice. Boil the tamarind extract and add the cut vegetables . Add salt and 1 tsp turmeric powder and cook till the vegetables are done. Mash the cooked dal and add to the tamarind, vegetable mixture and boil for another 5 mnts. Add the jaggery and ground paste. Boil for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add curry leaves and coriander leaves.
Heat the remaining oil in a small pan, add the mustard seeds. When they start spluttering, add the cut red chillies and curry leaves and pour into the sambar.
Puliyodarai is a perennial favorite and an easy extension of puliinji. To make 4 servings:
Rice 250 gms. Coriander seeds 1 tbsp. Bengal gram dal 1 tbsp. Pepper corns 1 tsp. Jeera ½ tsp. Dry coconut (copra) grated 2 tbsp. Fresh curry leaves: a few
Oil 2tsp. Ground nuts: 1 tbsp.
Puliinji (of course): 2 tbsp.
Cook rice with just enough water and 1 tsp of gingelly oil, so that the grains are separate. Spread in a wide pan.
Dry roast, coriander seeds, Bengal gram dal, pepper corns and jeera until the coriander seeds and dal turn light pink. Keep aside for a while to cool and powder.
Heat the oil and add the ground nuts. When they are fried, remove from heat, add the curry leaves and grated copra and pour to the cooked rice. Add 2 tbsps of prepared Puliinji and the ground powder. Mix well and serve. Best eaten with a deep fried side like papads or chips or (yes) salty nendran chips.
Next in the line of preparations ahead of Onam day, come Puliinji and Kalan. Both are prepared one or two days in advance. Preparation for Kalan begins atleast one week in advance, as the curds used must be sour. So, the left over curds of each day is kept separately for a few days, so that they will be sour by the time Kalan is prepared. A commenter on the earlier Kalan recipe post, had asked about curds separating while boiling it. The trick of curds not separating while boiling lies in using sour curds. Even in warm weather the curds do not go bad, the thick curds settles down and if there is any water content, it can be poured out. This thick sediment does not go stale, even for a week. In the olden days, when refrigerators were not around, gallons of curds were prepared and kept aside for preparation for Kalan for big feasts like marriages. In colder weather, curds should necessarily be kept in room temperature at least for 3 - 4 days.
