Onion Theeyal

Onions fried and cooked with roasted coconut along with spices and coconut oil.
Can be served with rice.It can be stored for a longer time.I used to take this to hostel and have it whenever I disliked the side dishes there.

Vendakka/ladies finger Pachadi

This is another onam special dish cooked in curd.This is a simple recipie and tasty too.

Mango pachadi

Creamy dish containing mango pieces cooked with coconut and curd and some spices.This goes well with rice.This is part of onam sadhya and is made in different ways.Here is one recipie.

Varathuaracha Sambar

This sambar is made by roasting coconut with few spices and tastes different from the ordinary one.

Unripe banana spicy fry or pacha kaya fry

This is a spicy side dish which can be accompanied along with bland gravies.

Spicy Pappad

This is a spicy pappad recipie which goes well with bland gravies.It can be prepared easily and takes less time.

This is  a simple recipie, yet I wanted to feature it here because I have rarely seen people having pappad this way.This is one interesting way to have pappad especially people who opt for spicy dishes.

Snake gourd and dhal

This is another recipie from my mom.I refer to this as yellow gravy, since I dint know its name.

This is a yummy recipie which is less spicy yet adoring.Please do try it.

Drumstick and Dhal curry

This week has been a drumstick week for me.. as my husband had brought a good number of drumsticks from the grocery.

Drumstick is a very healthy vegetable,it serves as a source of iron,calcium,potassium and many other vitamins and minerals.In some parts of tamil nadu drumsticks are used in sambar s and other curries especially every tuesday and friday, when they refrain from having non vegetarian food.

So I am trying to cook them in different ways to utilise them.

This recipie here is a  simple combination of drumsticks and dhal yet appetising and great to have with rice.

Drumstick curry kerala style

When I was staying in tamil nadu, we had a drumstick tree which had many drumsticks on it.Each of it used to be very long and fleshy.Sometimes, especially during the summer season there would be many long ,fresh and fleshy drumsticks on the tree and less number leaves on the branches of the trees.

People nearby used to wonder and ask for its stem to plant it in their houses.But it never grew as the way it did in our house.

I took few stems to plant it in our house in kerala, but never succeeded.I guess the soil conditions are different.Anyways I love drumsticks!!! this recipie here is one special to me.

Ingredients

Drumstick -2 nos

Tomatoes-2 small juicy

Chilly powder-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

For grinding

Garlic-2

Green chillies-2

Grated coconut-4-5 tbsps

Cumin seeds-pinch

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

For seasoning

Mustard seeds-1tsp

Baby onions-3-4 crushed

Red chillies-3

Few curry leaves

Directions

Take a deep bottomed pan, add cut drumstick pieces and chopped tomatoes, add turmeric powder,chilly powder and salt .Add water just to emerse them and cook for a few minutes.

Grind all the ingredients under gringing section to a fine paste with some water.

Add this to the cooked drumstick and tomatoe mixture and add some water to it (not too watery) and wait until bubbles surface.

Remove from flame.Now take another small pan add 4-6 tbsps of oil (preferred coconut oil), add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter, add onions and saute till light brown,add broken red chillies and curry leaves and saute for few secs.Now pour this to the drumstick mixture and mix well.

Serve with rice.

Mixed Vegetable kurma

This is a recipie, which I had came out well by sheer serendipity.

We were given a treat by one of my husband's friends.And I spotted out a dish among them, which looked like a vegetable kurma, it was creamy and green in colour.I did not like the colour, however when I tasted it ,it was really good.I could figure out that there was no chilly powder used in that recipie and wanted to try out similar stuff at home and atlast ended up preparing this dish.

Ingredients

Onions -2

Tomatoes-1 small

Green chillies-4

Grated coconut-4-5 tbsps

Potatoes-2

Carrot-1

Beans-10-15 nos

Ginger-1/2 inch

Garlic-4 nos

Chilly powder- 1tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Corriander powder-1 tsp

Garam masala- a pinch

Corriander leaves-few for garnish +1 tsp paste

Curry leaves- few

salt to taste

Crush the following ingredients

Fennel seeds - pinch

Cardomom- 2 nos

Cinnamon -3 nos

Cloves -2 nos

Directions

Chop potatoes,carrots,beans into small pieces, and boil with salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and little water in a pressure cooker.Wait for 1 whistle and turn off the stove.

Heat a pan, add oil add chopped onions and fry till becomes light brown, add crushed ingredients fry for a few secs, now add tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, 3 split green chillies and also corrainder paste and fry till it is cooked.Add corriander powder and turmeric powder and fry for few minutes.

Now mix in the cooked vegetables without them getting mashed.Add the coconut paste and water, allow it to cook till bubbles start appearing on the surface.Add salt to taste.Before turning off the stove add a pinch of garam masala and garnish with corrainder leaves.

Serve with chappathis, iddiyappam or appam.

Drumstick curry or Murrugakka karakulumbu

Karakulumbu is a famous curry among the tamilians.I had not tasted it until I stayed in a hostel while I was working in chennai.Also at every hostel it tasted differently.My aunt who also lives in chennai use to cook this recipie, which she got it from her neighbour.

I dont exactly remember the types of karakulambu I have had...however recently my sister tempted me telling me that she had drumstick karakulambu  today and there came an instant urge in me to have it.It is a lip smacking dish when served hot with rice.

Here is the recipie...

Ingredients

Drumsticks – 2 nos

Sambar Onion –15 nos
Garlic - 5-6 cloves

Onion – 1

Tomato – 1
Grated coconut -1 tbsp
Tamarind – lemon size ball
Sambar Powder – 1 heaped tbsp
Turmeric Powder –1/2 tsp
Oil – 2 tsp (gingelly oil preferred)

Mustard –1/2 tsp
Fenugreek – 1/4 tsp
Red Chillies – 2
Bengal Gram dhal – 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – few
Salt – to taste

Directions

Cut the drumstick s into medium size pieces as shown in picture below.
In a sauce pan add one tsp oil and add chopped onions and fry till it turns transparent.
now.

Add chopped tomatoes and fry till they are cooked.

Add grated coconut and sambar powder and fry for two minutes.Cool it and grind it to a fine paste.

Soak tamarind in water and strain out to make 2 cups of tamarind water.

Add the remaining oil to the same sauce pan When it is hot add mustard. When it popup, add bengal gram dhal, broken red chillies, curry leaves.
Then add fenugreek and fry till it turns light brown.

Add whole sambar onions and garlic fry well.
Then add drumstick pieces and fry for two to three minutes.
Add tamarind water along with turmeric powder. Bring to boil. Reduce the heat and cook till the drumstick become soft.

Now add the ground paste along with a cup of water and stir well. Allow to cook in very low flame for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from flame and serve hot with rice.

Morru curry / Curry made with Buttermilk

Morru curry tastes good with any oil fried spicy vegetable side dish.There are many variants.

Some recipies suggest adding corriander powder and gram dhal,anyhow here I have not used them still tastes fine.

Ingredients

Yoghurt/Curd- 2 1/2 cup
Baby onions -4
Green Chillies- 5-6

Grated coconut-1/4 cup

Turmeric Powder-1/2 tsp

Methi Powder-1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder-1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Oil to cook

Mustard seeds-1 tsp 
Curry leaves-few

Dried red chillies-1
(coconut oil preferred)

 　

　

Directions

Splutter mustard seeds, add green chillies,broken red chilly, curry leaves, onions and fry for a minute in a pan.

Grind the coconut well in mixie. Whip the yogurt.

Add the turmeric powder, methi powder, cumin seed powder and salt to the pan.

Now add the coconut and a cup of water. Cover it and cook for some time.

When cooked well, switch off the stove, and after a while add the yogurt to it, stir well.Add salt as required.

Serve hot with rice.