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Grind coconut, jeera, green chillies to a medium coarse paste.
In a pan, cook jackfruit seeds with salt, turmeric powder and little water. When cooked, add chopped raw mangoes. When done, add the ground coconut paste. Cook until the raw smell diffuses. In a pan, heat 1/2 tsp. coconut oil, and curry leaves. Add to the mixture. Switch off the heat. Add thick curd, coconut oil and mix well. Serve with rice.
Vazhaipoo (banana flower) is a super food with excellent source of dietary fibres and has many health benefits. These flowers are loaded with magnesium, which improves mood swings and brings down stress levels. It is packed with essential minerals like protein, potassium, calcium, copper, phosphorus and iron.
Clean and chop banana blossoms as said here. Pressure cook toor dhal, mash and keep aside. Cook black chenna dal and gram dhal separately with turmeric powder. When cooked, drain the water completely and keep aside. Soak tamarind in water and extract juice from it. Keep aside.
Fry the items(except coconut) given in "To fry in oil and grind to a paste". Dry grind to a coarse powder.
Heat oil in the same kadai, add tempering items, when golden brown, add squeezed banana blossoms, add turmeric powder, salt and mix well. Add little water, cook covered and when half done, add mashed tur dhal, cooked kala chenna and gram dal, pour in the tamarind extract and allow it to boil for a while until raw smell diffuses. Now add ground powder. Allow it to boil until thick.
Vazhaipoo pitlai (Banana blossom) pitlai is ready to be served with hot rice and ghee.
Paal kootu is a heirloom recipe, a kootu variety with mild sweetness (stew) made with milk and specific vegetables like yellow pumpkin and snakegourd. This tastes great as a side dish with vatha kuzhambu or can be mixed with cooked rice. There are variations of making this dish, this is my grandma's way of making paal kootu.
INGREDIENTS:
Diced yellow pumpkin - 2 cups
Milk - 1/2 cup
Rice flour - 1 tsp.
Salt - 1/8 tsp.
Sugar - 1 tablespoon ( add more if you like it too sweet)
Hing - 1/8 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Sambar powder - 1/2 tsp.
Green chilli - 1 slit (optional)
Grated coconut - 1 tablespoon
Water - as needed
To temper:
Coconut oil or ghee - 2 tsp.
Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp.
Split urad dhal - 1 tsp.
Curry leaves - few
METHOD:
Peel and chop parangikkai (yellow pumpkin) into chunks. Add very little water to it and add turmeric powder, sambar powder, salt, hing and slit green chillies.
Cook until soft but not mushy.
Dissolve rice flour in milk and add to it. Add sugar and grated coconut. Sugar can be added as required.
Mix gently and add water to get the desired consistency. Temper with the given ingredients.
Traditional and unique Parangikkai paal kootu is ready.
Mor kootu is a healthy, yoghurt based side dish served as an accompaniment in a South Indian thali. INGREDIENTS: Sirukeerai (tropical amaranth) - 1 bunch Thick curd - 1 cup Cumin seeds - 1 tsp. Dry red chillies - 2
Green chilly - 1
Soaked raw rice - 1/4 tsp.
Hing - 1/4 tsp.
Grated coconut - 4 tablespoons Turmeric powder - a pinch Sugar - a pinch
Salt - to taste
To temper: Coconut oil - 1 tsp. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp. Curry leaves - a sprig
METHOD:
Whisk thick curd (do not add water), keep aside. Grind red & green chillies, soaked rice, cumin seeds and coconut to a fine paste.
Wash amaranth well, take out the leaves and chop finely. Cook alongwith turmeric, hing, sugar and salt, mash well. Add the ground paste, and allow it to boil until raw smell diffuses. Now add, whisked curd, mix well, cook for half a minute and switch off the stove. Temper with the given ingredients. Flavourful sirukeerai morkoottu is ready. Best with south indian thali. Can also be mixed with rice. Goes well as a side dish for adai, dosai, chappati and poori.
'Masiyal' in Tamil means mashing. Generally masiyal is made with vegetables like yam, pidi karunai (another type of yam), greens and with lentils like moong dhal, horsegram etc. In Kongu region, people call 'masiyal' as 'kadaisal'. 'Masiyal' is called as 'Kutherisseri' in Kerala. Anyway, what's in a name? Being a foodie, its the taste which matters for me. Raw banana (Vazhakkai) masiyal is a simple, tasty, traditional side dish which goes well with South Indian thali.
There are many varieties of masiyal. See the links given below for the variations.
Cooked green gram dhal (with skin) OR moong dhal - 1/2 cup (optional) Green chillies - 2 Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Salt - to taste
To temper: Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp. Dry red chillies - 2 Curry leaves - a sprig
METHOD:
Cut raw banana into halves, boil it in water, with skin, alongwith a pinch of turmeric powder and salt. Cook until done. (Alternatively, add a cup of water alongwith salt and pressure cook for a whistle). Take out, peel the skin and mash it. Mash cooked green gram dhal well without any lumps.
Grind coconut and green chillies to a paste. Pressure cook green gram dhal and mash well. Heat coconut oil in a kadai, temper with the given ingredients, add the paste and saute until the raw smell is gone. Now add the cooked and mashed banana, cooked and mashed green gram dhal add little salt if needed, mix well and saute for 2 more minutes. Vazhaikkai kutherisseri is ready. Goes well with south indian thali as a side dish.
On thiruvadirai star of Margazhi month, Kali and ezhu kari kootu is made and offered to the Lord and consumed as prasadam. Ezhu kari kootu should have atleast 7 vegetables in it. Though it is named ezhu kari kootu, we end up with more than 7 vegetables. Vegetables like ash gourd, pumpkin, raw banana, colocasia, broad beans, fresh field beans(is a must), yam, cluster beans, sweet potato, snake gourd etc. are used. The seasonal vegetables during this time is kavathankizhangu ( I think it is purple yam in english, not sure.. and vetrilaivalli in Tamil. காவத்து in coimbatore area and வெà®±்à®±ிலைவள்ளி in Chennai side) and koorkankizhangu (chinese potato), which gives a great taste to this kootu. Usually odd number of vegetables like 7, 9, 11 etc. are used.
It is customary, vegetables like drumstick, ridge gourd, radish, capsicum and bottlegourd, needless to say onions and garlic are not used in this kootu while doing on festival days. Traditionally, beans, carrot and potatoes are also not used. However, you can use any vegetables while doing it on other days.
To temper: Coconut oil – 1 tsp Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Urad dal – 2 tsp Curry leaves – a sprig
METHOD:
Pressure cook toor dhal with turmeric , mash well and keep aside. Cook colocasia, peel and keep aside.
Extract pulp from the tamarind. Cut ash gourd, pumpkin and raw banana to big cubes. Cut other vegetables to finger-long pieces. Slit green chillies.
In a pan, heat a teaspoon of oil and add the items given in the list" To Powder" and fry until golden brown. When cool, add coconut and powder coarsely OR grind to a coarse paste, in a mixie. Keep aside.
In the same pan, heat the remaining oil , add mustard seeds , slit green chillies and curry leaves. Then add all the vegetables, turmeric powder and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add required amount of salt, pour in 1/2 cup of water and cover it with a lid. When half done add the tamarind extract and let it boil until the raw smell of the tamarind goes. Now add the mashed dhal, mix well and allow it boil until cooked. Add the ground powder, mix well and bring it to a boil. Best with Thiruvadirai Kali.
Grind coconut, jeera, green chillies and into a medium coarse paste.
Cut raw jackfruit pieces to lengthwise, thin pieces.
In a pan, cook jackfruit pieces with salt, turmeric powder and little water. When cooked. add the ground coconut paste. Cook well until the raw smell diffuses. In a pan, heat coconut oil, fry mustard seeds, and curry leaves. Add to the mixture. Switch off the heat. Add thick curd and mix well. Serve with rice.
Variation: You can also add dry red chillies and chopped onions to the tempering.
In Kerala, ashgourd is essential during a feast. This recipe is a stew in coconut milk with Kumbalanga(ashgourd) and Vanpayar (Red cowpeas), In Tamil, it is Pooshanikkai and Karamani respectively.
INGREDIENTS:
Pooshanikkai (Ash gourd) - 1/4 kg.
Karamani (Red cowpeas) - 1/8 cup Green chillies(slit) - 4 Coconut milk (Thick 1st extract) - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Salt - to taste Coconut oil - 2 tsp.
METHOD:
Wash and soak karamani in water overnight.
Pressure cook karamani in a cup of water alongwith salt till soft. Drain completely.
Peel ashgourd and dice into cubes, add green chillies , salt and cook till soft. (NOTE: Use very little water for cooking the ashgourd as it has a tendency to release water while cooking. Do not overcook the ashgourd as it will lose its shape). Add drained karamani and boil for a while. Pour in coconut milk, simmer the stove and allow it to boil for a minute.
Switch off the stove and mix in coconut oil & curry leaves while hot.
Pressure cook moong dhal with turmeric powder and mash it well. Keep aside.
In a pan, heat oil and fry pepper, chillies, urad dhal and jeera till golden brown. Grind it in a mixie to a paste alongwith scraped coconut.
Wash the keerai well, discard the roots and cut it finely. Cook it with a pinch of turmeric powder, required amount of salt and hing. Now mash the keerai with a keerai masher. When done, add the mashed dhal and ground paste and bring it to a boil till thick.
Season it with mustard seeds and urad dhal. A perfect side dish with South Indian Thali.
If using mulai keerai, use the tender stems also. Use only the leaves if doing with any other keerai. I have used arai keerai. My grandma does this in a "kal chatti" and says that it enhances the taste. Some mash it in a blender. But I use a "keerai maththu" for mashing keerais, as I feel it should not be like a paste. However, it is purely one's discretion whether to blend it like a paste or mash it with masher.
Sugar - 1 pinch (This retains the colour of the keerai)
METHOD:
Clean the keerai, and wash well. Take out the leaves and chop finely.
Pressure cook toor dhal with turmeric powder and mash well. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and season with mustard seeds, urad dhal, cumin seeds, and chillies. Add the washed greens, a pinch of sugar and hing. Add very little water, salt and cook till done. (DO NOT ADD MORE WATER AS THE KEERAI OOZES OUT WATER WHILE COOKING). Mash with a keerai maththu till smooth. Now add the mashed toor dhal. Mix well and give it a boil. Serve hot with rice. Goes well as a side dish with south indian thali.
Chena eriseri is a traditional kerala recipe. A single vegetable or combination of vegetables like pumpkin, raw banana etc. or adding cowpeas are also the variations. However, I would like to do this with a combination of yam and ashgourd.
INGREDIENTS:
Senaikizhangu (yam) - 1/2 kg Ash gourd - 1/4 kg. Salt - To taste Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp. Oil - 1 teaspoon
To grind to a paste: Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli - 2 Cumin Seeds- 1/4 teaspoon Scraped Coconut - 1/2 Cup
Peel & chop yam(senaikkizhangu) into cubes. Wash well. Similarly, peel and chop ashgourd into cubes. Boil yam in water alongwith turmeric powder and salt till soft. Drain well and keep aside.
Likewise, boil ashgourd in water alongwith turmeric powder and salt. This ashgourd water need not be discarded.Mix both and keep it ready.
Heat oil in a pan, add pepper, when it crackles add the red chillies, cumin seeds and finally the scraped coconut. Saute for a minute. When cool, grind in a mixie to a smooth paste. Add the ground paste to the cooked vegetables, add little more salt and allow the mixture to boil for a while.Add some more water if needed. Heat coconut oil, temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves and add this to the above mixture.
Chena erisseri goes well with plain rice and also as a side dish with south indian thali.
VARIATION:
Fry scraped coconut or finely chopped coconut pieces in coconut oil till golden brown and season the above mixture.
Pressure cook moong dhal alongwith turmeric powder and mash well.
Grind the items given in "To grind" to a paste.
In a pressure pan, heat oil, add the tomatillos and saute well. Add salt and saute for a minute.
Now add the mashed dhal & ground paste. Pour in half a cup of water and pressure cook for 1 whistle**. Temper with the given ingredients. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice. Goes well with chappathis. A perfect side dish for southindian thali.
NOTE: ** Tomatillos are slightly hard to get cooked even if we cook it covered for a long time. To enable perfect cooking of the tomatillos, pressure cook for 1 whistle.
I do this kootu when I feel bored to cook something and tired. The work is simple, without affecting the vegetable intake. Just mix it with hot rice and a drop of ghee. Fresh, green vegetables are preferred. I used, avarakkai, beans, and some leftover vegetables.
INGREDIENTS:
Any vegetable of your choice - 3 cups Moong dhal - 2 tablespoons Turmeric powder - a pinch Hing - a pinch Sambhar powder - 1 tsp. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp. Scraped coconut - 2 tablespoons Salt - as per taste
Pressure cook dhal alongwith turmeric powder, hing, sambhar powder and vegetables for 2 whistles. When pressure is released, take out, add salt & coconut, give it a boil and temper with given ingredients.
Plantain stem (Vazhaithandu) - 2 cups Thick curd (slightly sour) - 1 cup Cumin seeds - 1 tsp. Dry red chillies - 2 or 3 Scraped coconut - 4 tablespoons Turmeric powder - a pinch Salt - as per taste
For tempering: Oil - 1 tsp. Hing - a generous pinchMustard seeds - 1/4 tsp. Curry leaves - few
METHOD:
Chop plantain stem into small cubes and boil it in little water alongwith a pinch of turmeric powder and required amount of salt. Drain the boiled water completely. (Do not discard this water. I take this water with a little pepper powder and a healthy soup is ready).
Churn the curd . Grind together, dry red chillies, cumin seeds and scraped coconut to a smooth paste and add it to the churned curd, alongwith a little salt. Add in the plantain stem and allow it to boil for a couple of minutes. Switch off the stove. Temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves. This is an excellent side dish for south indian meals and goes well as a side dish for adais & chapathis.
Chow chow - 1/2 kg Moong dal - 2 tablespoons Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp. Pepper - 1/4 tsp. Dry red chilly - 1 Urad dhal (split) - 1 tsp. Coconut(scraped) - 3 tablespoons Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp. Curry leaves - few Coriander leaves - few Hing Salt Oil - 1 tsp. METHOD:
Pressure cook moong dhal with turmeric powder and mash it well. Keep aside.
In a pan, heat oil and fry pepper, chillies, and urad dhal till golden brown. Grind it in a mixie to a paste alongwith scraped coconut.
Peel and dice chow chow to cubes. Cook it with a pinch of turmeric powder, required amount of salt and hing. When done, add the mashed dhal and ground paste and bring it to a boil till thick.
Season it with mustard seeds, urad dhal and curry leaves. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Goes well with South Indian meals, rice, pooris and chappatis.
This is another tasty kootu made on Iyengar marriages and festivals.
INGREDIENTS:
Ash gourd (Pooshanikkai) - 1/2 kg. Peas - 2 tablespoon Kozhambu vadaam - 8 Toor dhal - 1/4 cup Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp. Tamarind - lemon size Salt - as per taste Hing - a pinch Oil - 1/2 ladle
To fry in oil and powder:
Gram dhal - 1 tsp. Coriander seeds - 3 tsp. Dry red chilli - 3 Scraped coconut - 1/4 cup
To season:
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp. Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp. Coriander leaves - few Curry leaves - few
METHOD:
Soak peas overnight and pressure cook.
Pressure cook toor dhal with turmeric powder , mash and keep aside.
Soak tamarind in water and squeeze out the pulp.
Wash and chop ash gourd into small pieces.
Heat oil in a kadai. Fry & powder coarsely the items given in "To fry in oil and powder". Keep aside.
In the same kadai, heat a tablespoon of oil and fry the kozhambu vadaam till golden brown. Keep aside.
Cook ash gourd in water with salt, hing and turmeric powder. When half done, add the fried kozhambu vadaam, peas, & tamarind water. When cooked, add the mashed dhal. Let it boil till thick. Finally add the coarsely ground powder and give it a boil. Season with the items "To season".
This tastes great when mixed with rice + little ghee. Can also be had as a side dish for southindian meals.
Sankaranthi kootu is a yummy side dish made with healthy seasonal country vegetables. It is a great side dish for venn pongal. It is also one of the main dishes during pongal festival.
Cut all the vegetables into medium-sized cubes and cook it in a cup of water with salt, green chillies, turmeric powder and hing. Soak tamarind in little water and extract juice.
Add the boiled saembu, tamarind water, cooked and mashed toor dhal and sambhar powder.
Allow it to boil for a while.
When slightly thick, add the scraped coconut, mix well.
Season it with mustard seeds, urad dhal, curry leaves and red chillies.
Brinjal - 1/2 kg. Toor dhal - 1/4 cup Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp. Tamarind - lemon size Salt - as per taste Hing - a pinch Oil - 1/2 ladle
To fry in oil and grind to a paste:
Gram dhal - 1 tsp. Coriander seeds - 3 tsp. Dry red chilli - 3 Scraped coconut - 1/4 cup
To season:
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp. Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp. Red chillies(whole) - 2 Curry leaves - few
METHOD:
Pressure cook toor dhal with turmeric powder , mash and keep aside.
Soak tamarind in water and squeeze out the pulp.
Cut brinjals into lengthy pieces and put it in salt water to prevent oxidising.
In a kadai, heat oil and fry & grind the items given in "To fry in oil and grind to a paste". Keep aside.
Again, in a spoon of oil, saute the brinjals for a while, with salt, hing and turmeric powder. When the colour changes, add tamarind water and allow it to boil. When cooked, add the mashed dhal, and ground paste. Let it boil till thick. Season with the items "To season".
This tastes great when mixed with rice + little ghee or gingelly oil. Can also be had as a side dish for southindian meals.
You can choose any fresh vegetable of your choice.
INGREDIENTS:
Snake gourd - 1/2 kg. Moong dal - 2 tablespoons Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp. Jeera - 1/2 tsp. Dry red chilly - 2 to 3 Urad dhal (split) - 1 tsp. Coconut(scraped) - 3 tablespoons Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp. Curry leaves - few Coriander leaves - few Hing Salt Oil - 1 tsp.
METHOD:
Pressure cook moong dhal with turmeric powder and mash it well. Keep aside.
In a pan, heat oil and fry chillies, and urad dhal till golden brown. Add jeera and saute for 5 seconds. Grind it in a mixie to a paste alongwith scraped coconut. Cut snake gourd into small pieces. Cook it with a pinch of turmeric powder, required amount of salt and hing. When done, add the mashed dhal and ground paste and bring it to a boil till thick.
Season it with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Goes well with South Indian meals, rice, pooris and chappatis.
INGREDIENTS:
