Inji Curry

 

Ingredients

Ginger – 100gm

Tamarind – lemon size
Jaggery – 2 tbsp
Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric  – ½ tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Fenugreek powder/seed – ½ tsp
Green chilli – 2 finally chopped
Curry leaves – 1 spring
Whole red chilli – 2
Hing/ Asefatadia – ¼ tsp
Coconut oil – 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

  

Method

1.  Clean the ginger and cut them into small pieces.
2.  In a medium heat, fry them in oil till it becomes light brown.
3.  Crush or grind the fried ginger coarsely when it is cool.
4.  Make tamarind pulp.  Soak the tamarind in 1cup of water for 15min. mix well and strain the pulp.
5.  In a kadhai/deep cooking pan heat the oil ( oil remaining after frying ginger can be used).
6.  Add the mustard and let it crackle, then add the curry leafs and whole red chilli.
7.  Switch of the flame and then add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, fenugreek seed powder.
8.  Then add the tamarind pulp and mix well.
9.  Now start the flame and bring the pulp to boil.
10.  Add the crushed ginger, mix well and lower the flame and cook for some 1 min.
12.  Now add the jaggrey, salt & hing. At this point if you want to add water to adjust the consistency. Cook for 5 min.
13.  Note : The consistency will thicken when it cools down.

Palada Payasam

An easy payasam made during onam or any other special occasion.  It is easy but different.  The adai is made of rice flour.  It is readily available in any of the Kerala stores.

 Adai

 

Ingredients

Small ready made Adda – 1 cup

Milk – 1 liter
Sugar – ¾ cup
Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
Raisins – 1 tbsp
Cashew nut - 1 tbsp
Clarified butter / Ghee – to fry (about 2 tbsp)

Method

1.      Heat the ghee in a pan, toss in the raisins and fry for few seconds till the raisins swells, remove them into a plate, next fry the cashew nut till it is about to become brown, remove this into the plate and keep it aside.

2.      Boil milk in a heavy bottom pan, lower the flame and add the adai.  Keep steering this continuously so that the adai does not stick at the bottom.

3.      Cook till the adai are soft, about 20 min.  This milk will thicken and a little.

4.      Now and the sugar and stir till it melts.

5.      Switch of the heat. Then add the cardamom powder and the fried cashew nut and raisins.  Mix well.

6.      You can serve it when it is hot.  But prefer all payasams when it becomes cold or a day older is better.
 

Vellarikka Kichadi

This again is an Onam Sadya recipe. I am trying it for the first time. I have always had this on all my Sadyas.  And I liked the nice pungent taste of it and use to wonder the ingredient behind this take. And now I know the mystery behind this taste. It is the strong flavor of mustard seed that gets grinded with the coconut paste.  It’s a nice and fast accomplishment. Should try. 

Ingredient

Ashgourd /Vellerikka  - 2 cup finely cut

Grated coconut – ½ cup
Cumin seed /jeera – ½ tsp
Mustard seed – ½ tsp
Curd – 1 cup
Green chillies – 2 cut into small pieces
Salt – as per taste

For seasoning

Oil – 1tsp
Mustard seed – ½ tsp
Curry leaf - few

Method

Preparation

1.      Cut the ashgourd from the center and de-seed it.  Now cut it finely, approximate 2 cups.

2.      Grind together coconut, jeera and mustard seed to make a paste .

3.      Whisk the curd nicely and keep it ready. 

Cooking

4.      Cook the ashgourd in ½ cup of water for about 5 min or till the pieces cook well, it should not be mushy.

5.      Now add salt and green chillies, cook for a min.

6.      To this add the coconut paste already made, mix well and cook for one more min.

7.       Remove from the heat and add curd and mix nicely. 

Seasoning

8.      Heat a pan and add oil.

9.      Add the mustard seed and let it crackle

10.  Now add the curry leaves and remove from the heat.

11.  Add this mixture to the cooked Ashgroud.

Olan

Olan  is one of the Onam Sadya recipes.  It is simple and fast to make.  It is very difficult to get the red black eyed bean in North India. So I usually us the regular black eyed bean also known as lobia in hindi.  

Ingredient

Ash gourd (Safed Kaddu) – 2 cups

Grated coconut – 1 ½ cups

Red black eyed beans/ Lobia/ Van Payar – ½ cup

Green chilies – 3

Curry leaves – 1 strand

Mustard seed – ½ tsp

Oil – 1tsp 

Method

1.      Soak the beans overnight or for about 2 to 3 hrs. ( you can skip this step if there is a time constrain)

2.      Cook the bean till soft, and keep aside ( don’t overcook it )

3.      Add ½ cup water to the grated coconut, grind and extract thick coconut milk.

4.      Cut ash gourd to small square pieces.

5.      Cook it by adding a little water, salt and green chillie about 10 min ( don’t make it mashy)

6.      To this add the cooked beans, coconut milk, curry leave. Mix well and cook for 5 min.

7.      Pour the oil and take of the flame.

Note : The gravy should be thick, don’t make it watery.

Onam Sadya

Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala. It marks the homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali.

My childhood memories of Onam were only of Onam Sadya as we never celebrated it at home but one of our family friends would regularly call for Onam Sadya. On our way back from school, my brother and I would get down at their house; have a grand sadya and go back home. Those days I never thought of how they arranged the food item or how the course goes.  It was just about good food, yummy payasam and lots of fun with friends.

Years after that now after marriage and with kids, far from parents, Onam has a different meaning.  It’s  a get-together of all Malayali friends, pookalam, preparation of  different types of payasams, exhibiting your collection of  Kasava saree, etc.

This year the celebration was a little different.  The Sadya was a group preparation.   All the ladies prepared one or two item.  We all met at one house and had a yummy Sadya.  Thanks to  Darshana, Bubby, Deepti, Sudha, Smita, Amrita  and Neetu. Due to them I could click a nice picture of a full Sadya.

The most important thing which I learnt this time was the way the sadya is served. 

            a)   Clean banana leaf is spread out with the end towards the left.

b)      You start serving from the extreme left

1.      Pazham /Banana

10. Papadam

2.   Banana Chips / Sarkara Upperi

3.   Pullyinchi

4.   Naranga curry/ Manga curry ( Lemon /Mango curry)

5.   Kichadi

6.   Toran

7.   Kalan

8.   Avial

9.   Kutta curry  

            c)  You serve the rice only once the guest  is seated

            d) Now serve boiled rice in the centre with 12. Paripu/dal and pour ghee on top

            e) Next serve rice with 13. Sambar

            f)  Now serve the 16. Paladda or any payasam. ( Some have payasam mixed with banana or with papadam).

            g) Next is little rice with 14. Rasam

            h) The meal end with rice and 15. Moru.

You can add lot more dishes to this like erissery, pullissery, pachadi, olan, theeyal, cherupayar payasam, Palada Payasam etc. 

Note : As I get time I will start posting recipes of all these item.