Me and my World

Pachadi is basically a side-dish to go with molagootal . Appa, my father would also mix pachadi with rice as a main dish. Pachadi is either made in tamarind water or without. Manga pachadi doesn't have tamarind in it, while senai (yam), vendakai (okra, ladys' finger) and mathan (yellow pumpkin) are cooked in tamarind. Here is the recipe. Ingredients: Senai (yam) - 50 gms, diced 1" Puli (tamarind) - 1 lemon sized ball or 1 tsp paste Manjal podi (turmeric powder) - 1/2 tsp Salt- to taste Coconut - 1/2 cup shredded Kadugu (mustard seeds) - 1/2 tsp Pachai milagai (green chillies) - 1 Karuvepillai (curry leaves) - 2-3 leaves Oil - 1/2 tsp Soak tamarind in a cup of warm water for 15 mins. Squeeze the tamarind so all the juice go into the water, this is tamarind extract. Add about 1 1/2 cups of water to this extract (or to tamarind paste) and bring it to boil. When tamarind boils, add diced yam, turmeric and salt. Let yam cook in tamarind water. Gr...

Molagootal as you can see is my favorite Kerala Iyer food. I had shared recipes for Yelavan Molagootal and Keerai Molagootal . Now its time for Senai Vazhakkai Molagootal. Mezhukku Varatti and Senai Vazhakkai Molagootal are two recipes in which I relish Vazhakkai (Raw Banana). To the recipe now. Ingredients: Senai (Yam) - 250gm, skinned diced to 1" Vazhakkai (Raw Banana) - 1, skinned diced to 1" Coconut - 1 cup, shredded Thoram paruppu (toor dal) - 1 cup, cooked Red chillies, whole - 1 Ullundu (urad dal) - 1 tsp Kadugu (mustard seeds) - 1 tsp Jeeragam (jeera) - 1 tsp Manjal podi (turmeric) - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 4 leaves Salt - to taste Oil - 1 tsp In a pressure cooked, cook in two layers. On the bottom, add yam and raw banana with turmeric. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables. On top, add enough water to cook toor dal. Now put the pressure cooker on the stove and cook for three whistles or until dal is cooked. In a small pan, heat ...

Kerela is the birth place for many recipes in this blog. This recipe is one such. In the summer season when mangoes and jackfruit are in abundance, a variety of dishes are prepared from raw to ripened, sour to sweet, from these two fruits.  I had bought some cut mangoes from costco and thought it would have completely ripened, but to my dismay they were tangy even after a week. And to boot that I had left my brother home-alone for almost two weeks. So to please him and to use the mangoes, I prepared Manga Kootan.  Manga Kootan recipe can be prepared with raw mangoes or just ripening tangy mangoes. This dish is eaten with rice. This recipe also uses coconut and sour curd. Here is the recipe. Ingredients: Raw or just ripening mangoes - 2 big, cut into 1.5 inch squares Coconut - 1 cup, shredded Sour curd - 3/4 cup, beaten Whole red chillies - 3 Green chillies - 3 Mendhayam (Methi seeds) - 1 tsp Turmeric - 1 tsp Jaggery - 1 tbsp Curry leaves - 1 spri...

A very simple vegetarian rice dish, quick to make, and can be cooked in one pot. This biriyani is different from the traditional biriyani in that there is no garam masal in whole or powered form. Unlike the traditional biriyani of the north Indian cuisine, amma de-spiced her biriyani to the simplest form. I bought some paneer (Indian cottage cheese) last week and biriyani came to my mind. Here is the recipe for vegetable biriyani. Ingredients: Rice - 1 cup Onion - 1 medium sized, cut into 1 inch pieces Potato - 1 medium sized, cut into 1 inch pieces Carrots - 3, cut into 1 inch long pieces Capsicum (green peppers) - 2 cut in length/square Peas - 3 Tbsp Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) - 10 1/2 inch pieces, soaked in water Oil - 2 tbsp Ghee (Clarified butter) - 2 tbsp Jeera - 2 tsp Green chillies - 3 Turmeric - 1/2 tsp Ginger - 1/2 inch, finely chopped Coconut - 3 tbsp, grated Curry leaves - 1 sprig Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, finely chopped Salt - to taste...

In our home, Moong dal (Payatham paruppu) and Moong dal flour (Payatam maavu) are used more than whole moong bean (Paccha payaru). Whole moong dal is always sprouted before use. We generally make a snack salad with sprouted moong dal, lemon juice and some ground pepper. The basic recipe is from my monther. I simplified it to cater to my hurried lifestyle and also because my pantry is not always staffed with all the ingredients that she uses/grinds! I love this subzi. It is versatile, in it can be mixed with rice, or can make a good side for chappati or even plain toasted bread! Ingredients: Sprouted Moong - 2 cups Onion - 1/2 medium size, diced Tomato - 2-3, diced Oil - for tempering, about 2 tsp Jeera - 2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder - 2 tsp Asafoetida (hing) - 1/4 tsp Salt - to taste Water - to cook * Heat oil in the pressure cooker. Splutter Jeera. * Fry onions till transparent, add tomatoes, chilli powder, turmeri...

I used to live in Bombay a long time ago. I would wake up everyday at 4:30am to get milk, cook, wash-up before I leave for office at 7:30am. In Bombay traffic and dirt, nothing was easy, I was too tired when I got home at 8:30pm.. that I didn't want to cook all over again. I came up with masala rice. Its wholesome with rice, vegetables and spices, all in one. I cook masala rice either ways - with rice or just the gravy that can be mixed with rice. Gravy can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, if you take care. Vegetables - 2 Cups potato, carrot, capsicum, onion, tomatoes, peas Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Asafoetida (Hing) - a pinch Garam masala - 1/8 tsp Salt - to taste * Wash and dice vegetables to 1/2 inch squares. Make sure potato is soaked into water after cutting, so it doesn't turn brown. * Heat oil, and splutter mustard seeds. * Add onion, saute till transparent, then add tomatoes. * A...

I remember when amma used to make Chappatis for over 10 people at a time. It was an event at home and we never had 2 or 3.. it would be like 8-10 chappatis per person. She would make a round dough chappatis and also work on the tava by herself. Later on my sister helped her a lot. Soon we moved to Phulkas. Chappati is where we oil the rounds on the girdle and cook them. Where as phulkas are puffed on a perforated girdle, taken out of the fire. Amma uses either oil or ghee (clarified butter) depending on the people who eat, or sometimes just plain phulkas. Whole wheat flour - 3 cups, finely ground Warm water- enough to make a dough Salt - to taste Mix flour and salt. Make a well in the middle of the mixture. Pour warm water little by little and make the dough to the consistency below. My friend, Gopi's mother, uses only water for the dough, no oil. More water that the flour absorbs softer the Phulkas. Oil reduced the water absorption, and we will add oil for chappati ...

Molagootal is a unique dish of Kerala Iyers. Everybody likes it, including non-Iyers who join our family (by way of marriage) takes an instant liking to it. It is not very spicy nor oily, with the taste of lentils, vegetables abd fresh coconut. Molagootal can be made with mixed vegetables (raw banana, pumpkin, winter melon,  chenai ,  koorkai ), spinach ( keerai ), cabbage. One of my mami (aunt) swears by beet root (beets) molagootal, and recently amma (mother) makes brussel sprout molagootal. You can find   Yelvan molagoota l here. Keerai (spinach) molagootal can be made with  Are keerai  (amaranthis),  molai keerai,    parippu keerai , spinach keerai ( palak ),  siru keerai . Of these traditionally we use Are keerai. Keerai (spinach/greens/palak): 300g Toor dal: ¾ cup grated coconut: ½ cup mustard: 1 tsp urad dal: 2 tsp red chilli: 1 pepper corns: 1 tsp turmeric powder: 1tsp salt: to taste Oil: 1tbsp Wa...

Vaazhakkai (raw banana) dishes are very popular in our house. Appa (my father) loves them. Amma (my mother) uses them in a variety of dishes from gravies to mix with rice, and kari as a side dish. I like it when amma makes molagootal or mezhukku varati with raw banana. I don't have raw banana molagootal recipe here, but there white gourd molagootal recipe , which can be modified to make raw banana molagootal ; except that raw banana can't be used alone, but with combination with other vegetables.  Mezhukku varatti , I guess, is so named because it is cooked by itself in water making it kind of sticky. 2 big Vaazhakkai (raw banana) skinned and diced into cubes 1 Tsp Kadugu (mustard seeds) 2 Chevappu molagai (whole red chillies) Salt to taste 1/2 Tsp oil Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add chillies and raw banana. Add just enough water to cook, add salt, and cook till raw banana is soft. Vaazhakkai Mezhukku varatti is ready. I like to eat this with Sambh...

Using skin of different vegetables was a recipe that my amma (mom) made in my family. She would use various vegetable skins - Yelavan, Matthan,.. I loved every single one of them. Amma's recipe is very nutritious in using variety of dals and also coconut in the recipe. Vegetable skin has all the nutitients of the vegetable and also a lot of fiber. Dals give good protein too. This is an accompaniment dish. 1 Cup Yelavan ( white gourd/pumpkin) skin, diced. 2 Tbsp each of Ullutam paruppu (urad dal), Kadala paruppu (chana dal) 1 Tsp each of Thoram paruppu (toor dal), Payatam paruppu (moong dal) 3 Chevappu molagai ( whole red chillies) 2 Tbsp grated coconut Salt to taste 1 Tsp oil Heat oil, add all the dals and fry till pink. Add pumpkin and coconut. Fry till dals become brown, and some of the water evaporates from the vegetable and coconut.  Cool. Grind to a paste. Add salt. Thogayal ready. I generally eat Thogayal with...

Molagootal is a staple in our Palakkad Brahmin homes. We eat Molagootal every week, and sometimes a few times a week. How? Since Molagootal can be cooked with different vegetables and combination of few vegetables, every concoction of Molagootal tastes, looks and smells different. Genrally Molagootal is made with these vegetables or a combination of theses - Yelavan (White Gourd/pumpkin), Matthan (Yellow Gourd/pumpkin or Acorn suqash) , Vazhakkai (Raw Banana), Senai (Yam), Goes (Cabbage), and Keerai (Amarath or Spinach). Except Keerai , all other vegetables can be used together to make Molagootal .  Molagootal is an wholesome food. Its is mixed with rice and eaten. We sometimes use it as a side dish for chappati. Molagootal has vegetables, paruppu (dal) for protein, rice gives carbohydrates. Molagootal is eaten with Thogayal or Puli Inji or Pilukachal or Tayir Pachadi . I just used Yelavan in this recipe. No to throw away the skin of Yelavan , I use it to ma...