Me and my World

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...